Sonic X: Delta Arc
by SXDelta
Summary: The Metarex wars have concluded; can Sonic, Tails and the others survive the threat of a new Robotnik and a spiritual enemy? More importantly: will their friendship ever be the same? Sonic X continuation. No fan characters and no filler.
1. Ch 1: The Dreamed Day

**(Final?) Update (July 3rd, 2009): As of right now, for all intents and purposes, I consider this story to be obsolete. What that means is that I no longer desire that anyone review it (even though the reviews have long stopped anyway) or offer advanced criticism. While I certainly wouldn't call this a bad story, there were definitely some huge oversights in its creation and, seeing as how I'm a rather self-conscious writer, I feel that it doesn't demonstrate my abilities properly. Maybe some day I'll come back and rewrite it in a more capable way, but for now I'll leave it up here as a reference for plotpoints that I hope to develop in the sequel.**

Update (12/28): The third "season" is finally done. It's been a very busy month for me. I've had finals, the holidays to worry about and I've been recovering from having my wisdom teeth out this past week. To commemorate the occasion, I've gone back and edited the previous chapters of the story. About 90% of the edits are strictly technical in nature (punctuation corrections and the like). I've added a little more exposition, description and dialog attributing here and there, but if you've read through the first 30 chapters already you're not really going to find any new information by reading through it again, so it's not really worth your time to do so.

**Important Message/Apology: I realize now why the number of reviews I've been getting has been declining: I haven't been replying to all of them. Although I'm no stranger to writing, I'm unfamiliar with the etiquette around here since I've only been a member for a couple of months, although I suppose I should have known better anyway. Generally I'd only reply if I wanted to clarify something or address someone's question, but from now on I'll try to reply to every meaningful comment (as in, something more than a handful of words in length). I guess I've been a hypocrite for saying that reviews are appreciated here, but now I'm going to try to show my appreciation.**

**Author's Note: Welcome to my story. My purpose in making this was to address, what I felt were, the flaws in the Sonic X series. I didn't hate Sonic X, but I thought that it didn't fully live up to its potential. Rather than start from scratch, I've decided to continue from where the series left off and continue the trends that were started in the final season.**

**if you want to know more about what to expect from this story, feel free to check out my profile, which has a brief list of key points about this story as a whole (no spoilers). I don't think FFnet would like it too much if I just submitted an outline, there wasn't enough room in the summary for it and I didn't want to clutter this first chapter any more than it already is, so that was really the only good place where I could put it.**

**I'd like to remind new viewers that this is not a Chris story. I do agree with the general consensus that he was a bit of a spoiled, whiny brat in the original show (especially in the first seasons). Rather than take the easy way out and write him out of the story, I've tried to make him more mature and at least somewhat likeable. In spite of that, Sonic and friends will still take center stage in this story. Think of this chapter as a prologue for the story, rather than a true beginning.**

Not even the sturdy, planet-spanning shield could contain the wrath of the Chaos Emeralds. The two most gifted disciples of the stones, Sonic and Shadow, perforated the massive shell that the remaining Metarex had cloistered themselves inside of.

The energy that the Metarex had hoarded within the planet's core now began to erupt. The mantle's boiling reaction split the spotted crust in half. The planet lost its spherical shape and became a white-hot smear on the cosmic plain.

As the crew of the Blue Typhoon began to celebrate their victory, the splattered planet drifted back together and began to condense.

"Hmm, that shouldn't be," Eggman, looking on from his own spacecraft, mused as his henchmen panicked. "It appears that the planet's energy is inverting. At this rate, the whole thing is going to implode."

"Foolish fleshlings," a voice emanated from the planet itself. "You've only stalled our plan to purify the galaxy. Our only recourse now is to wipe out _all_ life, to ensure that your kind won't corrupt or exploit it any longer."

**--------------------------------------------------------------------**

"Oh my, that sounds like quite the predicament," the man gasped.

"Well, I'm sure everyone at home knows how it all ends. But anyways, there were many foes that we had to overcome while we were together. Of course, most of the time we were dealing with Dr. Eggman. I don't think even he took himself seriously. We had our share of troubles along the way, but there were also peaceful times. Out of all the places I've been in my life, their world was the most relaxing."

"How so?"

"Well, it's full of forests and lakes. It's virtually untouched by any technological influence. Just a few cottages here and there and the tower that Eggman built."

"Is this why you've been so secretive about your latest scientific endeavors? Are you worried that some business mogul is going to buy the rights to your device and start industrializing this world?"

"I haven't thought that far ahead," the younger man chuckled, "right now I'm just trying to get back there."

The two men sat, facing each other while the looming cameraman tried as hard as he could to make his presence unnoticeable. At one end sat an impeccably groomed pundit, who are about a dime a dozen these days. Across from him was a young man with chestnut hair. His face had a glowing sheen, as well as a few cuts. Today was the first time he had shaved in months. He had an imposing odor of cheap cologne about him, which he splashed on in a half-hearted attempt to cover up the fact that he hasn't bathed. He was draped in a crumpled, faded lab coat and stain-covered slacks. Half of his hair was frizzy and standing straight up, while the other half was gelled down.

"Tell us more about the difficulties that you're having with this process. Most of the viewers at home are probably wondering why you can't go back if you've been there before."

"Well, I hope I don't bore anybody, but the problem is that traveling requires the perfect conditions. It's like this: the two universes can be thought of as rotating spheres covered in holes; we can only travel between universes when two holes match up at precisely the right time. We think we've found a way to anticipate when these windows of opportunity occur, and unfortunately there don't seem to be any that are within our immediate spatial or temporal reach. However, I have been toying with the concept of using the openings to other universes as 'stepping stones' to reaching Mobius."

"Mobius?"

"Oh, that's just what we call Sonic's world back at the lab. It's the only name that we could use that didn't sound too clunky or technical. But anyway, what I have in mind is to find a different universe; one that's connected to our world, as well as Mobius. That way we won't have to wait for a direct opening between the two primary universes, we'll just use other universes as a bypass."

"That sounds risky. What if you were to, say, travel through a dimension that was full of deadly radiation?"

"That is a concern, but if this turns out as planned there will be no risks. The time that we'll spend in any third universe will be negligible. The portal will create a wormhole-styled shortcut between the two inter-dimensional rifts, making inter-universal travel instantaneous."

"Ok, I think I speak for the viewers at home when I say that you're going to have to try to explain that again."

"Well, let's just say that we'll be going so fast that we won't notice any malignant environments that we may come across."

"Fair enough. One final question before we're out of time."

"Shoot."

"At such a young age you've given so much to science. When you first enrolled in college you had already built an operational prototype of the device that has gained such notoriety. You almost single-handedly laid the groundwork for every major inter-dimensional scientific theory, you've been nominated for virtually every award that there is and you have more than enough money to retire, so why do you still press onward?"

The young man hesitated, gathering up his thoughts. "I'm happy with all of the advances that I've made so far, but there's still so much to do. It's true that I have great friends and a great life, but most of my closest friends aren't here today and I want to make them a part of my life once again."

The Pundit nodded in agreement, and then smiled as he stood up to shake the young man's hand. "Thank you for letting us chat with you, professor Thorndyke. We'd like to wish you the best of luck in your endeavors."

**-------------------------------------------------------------**

The institute was shutdown for the night, and only Chris was still in the building. He was scribbling on a notepad. He was hastily making a goodbye letter, just as he had done when he last activated the portal. He glanced towards the two framed pictures on his desk. One was an old, beat-up picture from long ago of Sonic, Tails, Amy and himself. Next to it was a panorama of the surprise party that Cosmo threw during their last adventure. He wondered how Tails was coping with the loss. The young prodigy was one of the few scientific minds that Chris had any respect for these days.

His month-long cram session in the lab was almost unbearable. All of his assistants, who were far older, were literalists that were only obsessed with regulation and pointless minutia. Having his grandfather on the team was a plus, even if he was only a minor consultant.

Now was as good a time as any, so he began the preparations to activate his famed portal. After half an hour of warm-up procedures that he had to jerry-rig by himself, he stood silently before the swirling disk of energy that now appeared before him. He took a few steps forward until he was stopped by a familiar voice.

"You know, you should really learn a new routine. Isn't this exactly how you did it before?"

Standing behind him was Chuck, Chris's wily grandfather.

"Well, it worked just fine last time. And, if anything, this portal is safer than the old one was. So are you here to try to change my mind?"

"No no, I just wanted to say goodbye this time."

"This isn't a goodbye. I'll be back just like before."

"Well of course I know that, but that doesn't mean that I won't miss you. Besides, I figured I'd double-check your figuring. My name is attached to this project too, you know, I don't want to get blamed if something goes wrong."

"Nothing can go wrong. The first model was already perfect. I couldn't wait forever for the committee to give it the ok. Even if I tried to shave down the time, it would probably be ten years or more before this thing was legally approved for human transportation."

"Hey I'm not debating here; I'm just sending you off."

"Oh, sorry grandpa," Chris said in an embarrassed tone.

"Well, if you still plan on going you better do it now, I'm sure someone is gonna notice all of the power that we're using on this thing. I've got everything all set."

"Thanks," Chris said as he blushed slightly.

Chuck shooed him off. "Yeah yeah, get going."

Chris took a moment to catch his breath and think things through. Earlier today he had just announced his plan to reach Mobius, and no sooner did he find the perfect inter-dimensional pathway that would open up at precisely this time. Was it really best to be jumping the gun like this? Would another opportunity like this ever arise again? Playing it safe wouldn't be the worst thing. After all, time travels much slower in Sonic's world than it does here, so it's not as if he'd be missing a whole lot if he decided to wait. And what about getting back? His plan was to share the portal's specifications with Eggman, hoping that he'd be generous enough to build one of his own. He knew that this was way too much to hope for, but he didn't care. After all, if it weren't for Eggman Chris wouldn't have had the foggiest clue about the existence of shifting inter-dimensional barriers. Tails was another possibility, but engineering was more of his specialty than quantum physics.

No, Chris had already waited long enough. When he last left Mobius, he didn't get to say goodbye to his friends. He owed it to them to come back. Besides, there's also the slight possibility that Eggman may one day get himself killed in his antics. The sooner Chris gave him this information, the better.

It was settled. Chris took a deep breath and stepped through the portal.


	2. Ch 2: Sweets and Small Talk

**Author's Note: the ending to the previous chapter may have been a little rushed, but I don't think anyone will really mind. After all, this is Sonic X and not Chris X.**

The time had arrived. A whole day of waiting had led up to this moment. She peeled back a segment of the flakey crust, only to look with a grimace at what she found.

"Aw, this one didn't turn out either!"

"Well, not every recipe can work. Cooking is trial and error. Sometimes you just have to play it by ear."

Cream was still disappointed with the waste of time and ingredients that lay in front of her. Her mother tried to boost her spirits.

"You'll always be my little chef you know," she said as she patted her daughter on the back. "There's still plenty left for your friends; just take the rest while I go throw this out."

"Woah, hang on a minute!" an annoying voice cried out.

Vector, who had been reclining in his favorite chair, flopped out with a thud, only to quickly scramble to the table.

"You can't throw out a perfectly good pie like that, it's wasteful!" Vector exclaimed, never being the subtle type.

"Well, if you want it…," Vanilla said bluntly.

Vector looked down at the discolored berries floating in a soupy mess.

"Err, maybe later."

"I think I see Amy. I won't be gone too long, Mother."

Cream gathered up the various confectionaries in a basket and bolted out the door with her signature Chao not too far behind. Vanilla and Vector looked out the window and strained to see Amy walking in the distant horizon.

"She's certainly eager today," Vector said as he slowly inched his way out of the kitchen.

**-----------------------------------------------**

"You know, I can't remember the last time I was able to actually make it to your front porch," Amy said with a slight smirk as she walked beside Cream.

"Oh? I hadn't noticed," Cream said, a little embarrassed. "I just look forward to these days. The best thing about cooking is seeing the face of a satisfied customer."

"By the way, is Vector still living with you?"

"Well, he needed somewhere to go when he went out of business."

For the past few months this had been a ritual for Cream and Amy. At least once a week they'd come to visit Tails and have lunch outside his workshop. Tails had been keeping to himself ever since their journey in space had concluded.

With the obvious exception of Tails, Amy and Cream were probably the ones who were the most affected by the loss of Cosmo. As bad as they felt, they knew that Tails must feel ten times worse. They knew one thing: this was not the time to leave Tails alone.

**-----------------------------------------------------**

"So, hear anything about Sonic?," Tails asked in his typical soft-spoken, yet upbeat voice.

Amy turned her gaze towards the shore and sighed. "No; we were hoping that maybe you heard something."

"No, but I guess it makes sense that we haven't seen him. After all, he tends to take peace and quiet in small doses."

"Yeah, well he sure couldn't have picked a better time to leave," Amy said in a biting tone.

"What do you mean by that?"

Amy suddenly stiffened up. "Oh, nothing. I mean, I suppose any time would be a bad time for him to leave in my case," Amy laughed nervously then regained her composure: "But when he gets back, he's certainly going to get a stern talking-to!"

Tails smiled calmly as he closed his eyes for a moment. "You don't need to act like that, Amy. I know what you really meant. Don't worry about it; I've been doing much better lately."

"You really have gotten sharp, haven't you? Well, as much as I adore him I don't understand why he would just up and leave us so soon, especially considering what happened."

"I can't be too hard on him; he's done a lot for us. He did all that he could for me. Maybe he hasn't shown up because he's the one who's depressed."

Amy chuckled, "well, I don't think we have to worry about that. He could be face-to-face with the end of the world and still have that smile on his face."

Cream, not entirely sure what to say, chimed in her usual high-pitched tone "Anyway, I think it's great that you're feeling better. I mean, not that you were bad before but I can already tell that there's been an improvement."

"Thanks, but I probably wouldn't be feeling much better if it weren't for an unexpected guest I had a few nights ago."

"And who was that?" Amy wondered.

"It may be hard to believe, but it was Eggman, actually. He stopped by in the middle of the morning. Apparently he's always out jogging at that time. I know it sounds strange, but that's what happened."

"Well, what did he do?"

"Nothing, he just said a few things. Not the sorts of things that you or Cream would say, but scientific stuff. He basically told me to hope; to open my mind to all the possibilities in life. He said that if you can dream it, science can find a way. I don't think it's so much what he said that mattered, but rather the fact that he said it."

Tails paused for a moment and averted his gaze towards the ground.

"He was the one who talked me through things on the day that it happened, and it meant a lot that he came back to talk me through what I've been experiencing, even if he's not the best at it. Of course, he'll probably never admit to it now. You know him, he can never get too comfortable with us because he's our rival and it would ruin his little game if he ever became friends with us, but I like to think that maybe he has some good intentions."

"You're one of the last people that I'd expect to say that. After all, he worked with the Metarex for a while, didn't he? In fact, whenever he wasn't our enemy he at least tried to work with whoever was our enemy."

"Maybe you're right. Sometimes I just like to think that there's more to him than meets the eye."

"You know, he's someone that we haven't heard from in a while, either. Wasn't he planning some kind of comeback right after Chris left? It seems like we can never get any peace and quiet with him running around."

"He didn't mention it when I saw him, which was unusual. Maybe he has changed."

Suddenly a siren within the workshop went off.

"What's wrong?" Cream asked, frightened.

"There's an intruder!" Tails said as he dashed from his seat.


	3. Ch 3: Second Chances

**Author's Note: The last chapter was a nod to a scene that was mostly cut from the American version of the final episode of Sonic X. It wasn't a strict retelling because this story takes place a few months after the last episode of Sonic X. I currently don't have anymore Chris chapters planned after this one, so rejoice!**

**I decided to have the Chaotix lose their home just because it was vaguely implied in the series that they had a rough time financially (although this may have been edited out of the American version). I didn't make this change because I have something against the Chaotix, I did it so that they could be brought in closer to the plot by living with Cream and Vanilla.**

When he awoke, he saw a massive black spot swirling in a pool of white. As his vision sharpened, he was able to make out traces of red and yellow on the black spot. When he rubbed his eyes, he saw that this spot was a person and that he was at the hospital.

At first he recognized this person as someone he knew, but reconsidered when he got a better look at him. The man sitting at his bedside was of a towering height with lanky limbs. He had a plump midsection and a tiny head. All that he had for a face was a garish green visor that rested on a pointed noise with a gray mustache that plumed forth from it.

His first guess was Eggman, but it was as if someone had mixed around the doctor's color scheme. His jacket was jet black with yellow flaps and cuffs. Underneath were red suspenders with black-and-yellow striped boots. He looked like a bumblebee perched on a tiny rose with two stems.

"Are you feeling alright, son?" the man asked.

Chris sat up and realized that this was a rather worn down hospital. All of the furniture was covered in scuff marks and gashes and the walls were starting to turn yellow. He was even still in his lab clothes without any sort of monitors hooked up to him. Chris turned towards the man in a lethargic manner.

"Eggman? Is that you?"

The man gave a slightly frustrated snort.

"Would you mind not calling me that? It's Robotnik."

Chris gave him a cockeyed look, but decided to drop the matter.

"Do you have any idea where Sonic is?" Chris asked.

"Huh?"

"Sonic; do you know where he is?"

"I don't know anybody by that name," Robotnik said in a bewildered tone.

"Are you kidding? Sonic the hedgehog? Ringing any bells?"

"Oh, _the_ Sonic," Robotnik paused while his mouth and brow contorted in confusion. "Are you sure you're alright, son?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. So do you know where he is or not?"

"No, and I'm certain that nobody else does, either."

"Why? What happened?"

"Is that some kind of joke? He's gone. He's been dead for a long time. Everyone knows that."

Chris stuttered for a moment while he tried to comprehend the context that he had been hurled into.

"But how's that possible? I was only gone for a few months tops. And…"

Chris gave up his futile effort and curled up on his bed. He dropped the ball. Something must've gone wrong with the portal. Perhaps he could have seen it if he wasn't so impatient. He felt shame and humiliation, as if they were an icy puddle in his gut.

Robotnik sat quietly, knowing the boy needed time to think.

It was then that Chris realized he was younger again. Not quite as young as when he first met Sonic, but physically younger than he should be. This was something that happened when he last traveled to Mobius. It didn't make any sense. Where was he?

"This is the same world where Sonic the hedgehog was born, right?"

"Yes."

"Then what happened? I've been here before, but when I last traveled here from Earth time seemed to skip backwards, not leap forwards. I mean, when I was last here Sonic was still alive."

"Hmm… have you been using a standard portal or one of those illegally-modified ones?"

"What do you mean? Who's been modifying portals? Did someone rip off my design or something?"

"Your design?"

"Well, yeah. I may look young, but I invented the first one. I'm Chris Thorndyke."

"The scientist who vanished in that infamous portal incident? Well, I suppose this would explain where he's been, but understand that this still seems really farfetched… even to a guy like me."

"Just give me some time and I can prove who I am. I could build another portal, or I could tell you things about the past that the history books don't know about. Whatever you want."

"It's alright, you don't have to prove anything to me. I think maybe you might have me confused with my ancestor, the original Dr. Eggman."

"Ancestor? Well, you do look an awful lot like him."

"I wish I didn't. For years I've tried to remove the mark that he's left on my family's reputation. Usually whenever someone discovers our connection, things don't go well. On bad days, people think I'm trying to kill them; on good days they think I'm too incompetent to help them."

Chris chuckled slightly; not knowing if that had been some attempt at a joke.

Just then two humanoids with pale fur walked in through the door.

One was dressed in musty, formal attire and had her hair tied up in a braid with bushy mutton chops on the side. There wasn't a part of her to be found that wasn't purple, white, or somewhere in-between. Her gaze was disciplined and focused.

The other had a hairdo that was spread out in every which way and he was only wearing a pair of shiny yet tacky boots in addition to the customary gloves. Around his wrists were thick, ornate cuffs with inscriptions on them. His countenance was like hers, but to a lesser extent: he seemed softer, more open, less experienced.

"Hey doctor, are we still doing this today or should we just wait until tomorrow?" Silver asked, trying his hardest to be patient.

"We'll understand if your plans have become… sidetracked due to recent events," Blaze was quick to add in her calculative tone.

"Not a chance, madam. Everything's still right on schedule," Robotnik said with a grin.

"Wonderful, but there's no reason you can't call me Blaze. If anything you're the most distinguished one here, not me."

"Well, I don't know about that," Robotnik said as he glanced in Chris's direction. An idea suddenly popped into his head which gave him a devilish grin. "Say kid, I think I may have something to solve your problem. It seems you showed up on just the right day."

**------------------------------------------------**

After ensuring the boy's speedy recovery, Robotnik directed everyone towards his lab, which had a dilapidated facade but was sleek and spotless inside.

"So, you're trying to build a time machine in order to stop some disaster from happening?" Chris had surmised from the hints that he had picked up on the ride over.

"Try? The machine's already finished and tested. But at any rate, that is what we're planning to do," Robotnik assured his newfound friend.

"I don't get it. Why do you need to stop a disaster from happening when everything seems fine now? This place looks a little worn-down, but it certainly seems livable."

"Our entire world was almost destroyed," Silver said in response to Chris' ignorant and audacious statement. "And soon that _thing_ will come back to finish the job."

Knowing that her protégé's explanation wouldn't suffice, Blaze interjected: "A powerful creature was released shortly after your supposed disappearance. This creature devoured eight legendary stones and nearly destroyed our world. When it was done with us it used its newfound powers to enter the human realm. With your invention and some of his own quick thinking, the Doctor managed to relocate most of the people from his planet. His people helped rebuild our shattered world, but it can only last so long before the monster grows bored and returns to this world."

She paused for a moment and then added: "We have tried destroying it, but it's simply too powerful. The energy of the stones has become inseparable from its own, and our artificial gems aren't enough to turn the tide. In order to stop it, we must confront the beast before it gets its hands on those stones. Fortunately for us, the artificial gems that the doctor created can still bend space and time, albeit less efficiently than the real ones."

There was silence as Robotnik began the preparations for his machine.

Blaze broke her typical gallant style of delivery and added awkwardly: "I'm sorry if that was more than you wanted to know. You just seemed the inquisitive type and it's a bit of a peeve of mine when people start asking me a bunch of questions."

"That's alright," Chris said uneasily, "today's just been a confusing day for me. This monster of yours sounds an awful lot like Chaos, who we dealt with some time ago."

Silver took this as his chance to get involved in the conversation once more. "He was just a drop in the bucket compared to what we're dealing with. Even without the power of the emeralds, Iblis could destroy a city just by thinking about it."

"Technically they're not emeralds due to their coloration," Blaze was quick to amend.

"Whatever," Silver groaned, "you know, you're normally not this involved in conversations."

Their bickering was interrupted by the arrival of a hulking war machine coated in red and black paint.

"Ah yes, it seems that Omega is all tuned-up. Now that he's here we can get things underway," Robotnik said confidently. He turned to Chris one last time before the crew was about to depart on their mission.

"You can go with them, if you'd like. But be advised that there's virtually no chance that you'll be able to return to this time. I chose Blaze, Silver and Omega for this mission because they're willing to sacrifice their lives for the world. If you're willing to offer up your life here, then you're more then welcome to join."

"I don't have a problem with that, not at all," Chris said with enthusiasm, "but why do you trust me so much? You just met me today."

"To be honest, I couldn't be sure if you were the real deal until just now. An imposter wouldn't risk everything like this, but someone who was really from the past would relish the thought of giving up a life in the future. Also, I have to admit that you have served as an inspiration throughout my early life. Besides, there's no way you could screw up history any more than it already is."

With that the four heroes were sealed inside of a metal chamber while the doctor gave each of them a fond farewell. The various cylinders which rooted the chamber to the ceiling began spinning at indistinguishable speeds as a stockpile of colorless gems were expended as fuel. Light flashed from the seams of the chamber for an instant, and then the four were gone.

This ride was certainly smoother than the one Chris had taken earlier that day. Everything about him felt routine, as if he hadn't traveled at all. However, he couldn't see a thing except the afterimage of the light that lingered his corneas and the reflections of a few metallic objects resting on a shelf.

"Could you get us a light?" Silver whispered.

"Hold that thought. An unknown entity is approaching," Omega declared, "and quickly."


	4. Ch 4: Getting in Touch

**Author's note: Yes, that was Eggman Nega's outfit that I described in the previous chapter. I'm calling him Robotnik because 'Eggman Nega' doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. In the games, Blaze and Eggman Nega were enemies, but the future in this story is an alternate timeline where Iblis wrecked everything, so people who would've ordinarily been enemies decided to work together in order to survive, hence why Nega seems oddly friendly. I believe Sonic Rush stated that Nega and Blaze are from an alternate dimension, while Sonic Rivals and Sonic '06 said that Nega and Blaze were from the future. I've stuck with the latter explanation, obviously.**

Everything upstairs seemed to be in order. That only left the basement: a powder keg of discarded weapons and gadgets. Tails led the way with Amy cautiously following with hammer in tow. Cream and Cheese trailed behind reluctantly, afraid to follow but even more fearful of being left alone. Whoever was in there hadn't bothered to turn the lights on, but this was the only possible place that remained.

Cheese, sensing the intruders' presence, dashed forth in a daring dive bomb only to be snatched out of the air by a menacing claw. Amy took this as her cue to charge, holding hammer overhead. Suddenly she had felt as if the ground had been pulled away from under her and she found herself tumbling through the air, landing in a pile of cardboard boxes. Tails tried to reach for something on a nearby shelf when a voice cried out:

"Wait, hold on! I recognize those voices."

"Would you mind giving us a light already?" a whiny voice requested.

Tails reached for a light switch, only to be blinded by a flash. One of the intruders seemed to be holding a torch, but on a second look the flame was actually emanating from her palm.

"Tails?"

A loud crack was heard, followed by the sound of an object clattering on the ground and a loud slam. Tails immediately turned on the lights to see Amy, breathing heavily with the head broken off of her hammer. Beneath her lay a massive red-and-black machine which slowly stood back up.

"What? Were we done fighting?" she panted.

**-----------------------------------------------**

"So anyway, we're looking for these two people. We've heard from a reliable source that they both have some kind of connection with this whole incident. We're not sure what kind of connection, which is all the more reason to find them," Silver summed up in plain terms to the two-tailed fox who sat at the other end of the table.

"I don't think you need to be worried about where they stand. Knuckles is always hanging around the Master Emerald on the floating isle. As for Sonic, we're as clueless as you are when it comes to his whereabouts," Tails surmised.

"Relax, I'm sure that if what you're saying is true, they must be the key to stopping Iblis," Silver said reassuringly.

"Don't jump to conclusions," Blaze reminded her student as she sat in a nearby windowsill.

In the corner of the room, Amy was trying to jam her hammer's handle back into its socket, but it wouldn't stay.

"I hope you're happy," she said indignantly, "this was my favorite hammer."

"Yes, it's not your fault at all that it's broken," Blaze replied dryly.

Amy, taking this as a challenge, stood up in Blaze's face and shouted: "You're darn right it isn't. If you had checked with us before sneaking in here I wouldn't have had to use it!" Suddenly she found herself being dragged away by the back of her dress.

"Simmer down," Omega said, lowering his voice as he let her go.

"It's alright Omega, I was just about to leave anyway."

Suddenly Omega and Silver snapped to attention as Blaze handed out orders.

"Omega, you stay here and see what else you can learn. And as for you, Silver, see if you can find our elusive lead. I'll start with the other one."

The rest of the group was silent until the two pale newcomers had left.

"Now that that's out of the way, I'm eager to hear how things have been going for you guys," said Chris, relieved to have some privacy.

"Oh, you know. Same old same old. Time never really flies around here," said Amy is a dismissing fashion.

"The boys at the detective agency lost their house and had to move in with us," Cream chimed in pleasantly, in spite of how annoying her current situation was.

"What about you, Tails? Is everything ok?"

"Yeah, it's fine. Everything's fine," Tails said as he looked away from Chris.

**-------------------------------------------**

Blaze had doubts that this floating island was what others claimed it to be. Still, she wondered if maybe she should have sent Silver to do this instead just in case if the rumors turned out to be true. Then again, she had a few tricks of her own for getting up there if need be.

Upon entering a clearing, she was relieved to see that the old wise tales were false. All she saw was an island that was completely separated from the mainland, save for a wooden bridge.

Suddenly she heard heavy footsteps. She ducked back into the brush and made her way to the sound's origin. Peering through the foliage, she saw some kind of machine. It was almost perfectly spherical with a pair of spindly arms and legs.

"The excavation is complete," it garbled.

The robot's limbs retracted into its body and it flew away. Not a moment later a dreadlocked native stood where the robot had.

"Oh yeah? Why don't you come back here so I can show you some excavating of my own!" he declared angrily.

He was about to pursue when Blaze stopped him. She wanted to ask him a few questions, but he just ignored her, pressing onward as she followed him. The two tried to carry on a conversation mired by their heavy breathing.

"Listen, I just wanted to know a few things about these 'emeralds' of yours. They may be the key to preventing a worldwide crisis."

"Well then, you're going to want to talk to that beach ball and his friends because they just took it!"

"It?"

"The Master Emerald, don't you know anything? Why else do you think this place wasn't floating?"

"It's supposed to do that?"

"You're really not from around here, are you?"

**-----------------------------------------**

Silver had just barely started his search when he noticed a thick, glowing plume of smoke coming from a forest on the horizon. Since the search for Sonic would likely take days, he might as well see what the problem is. Besides, this is just the kind of trouble that Sonic is attracted to.


	5. Ch 5: Trouble in the Tropics

**Author's Note: If you're wondering why I'm putting these at the beginning of chapters instead of at the end, it's so that they won't ruin any dramatic cliffhangers. Not much else to say about the last chapter.**

Knuckles and Blaze slid down a steep incline in their pursuit. She tried to catch her unwilling companion's attention.

"He's changing direction," she declared as the metallic sphere veered to the right.

"Yeah, but those digging machines up ahead aren't and they're the ones with the emerald. He's probably trying to lead us away from them."

If this was the robot's plan it failed, yet it still continued in its new path toward a distant forest fire.

**---------------------------------------**

In spite of the long-awaited reunion, things had already grown dull at the workshop. Even with Blaze and Silver gone, the conversations were still kept simple and shallow for the sake of their monstrous guest.

"Hey Cream, did your mom ever make any new outfits after I left? I was wondering if I could borrow a few, since this coat doesn't fit me anymore."

"Sure, she's had a lot of free time since Vector and the boys do all of the chores for us."

This sparked an idea in Amy's head and she whispered it to Cream.

"Oh, and, um, Mr. Robot? Maybe you could go along. I have three detectives living at my house and I'm sure they could help you out; they know just about everything!" She tried to keep herself from wincing after saying that last part. "You can come along with us."

Omega obliged and the three walked out the door. Amy looked across the vacant room and saw Tails sitting in a chair quietly, facing away from her. Everything was just as she had planned.

Now was her chance to talk to him one on one.

"Have things gotten any easier at all?"

"I'm fine."

"You're not the only one who can tell when someone's lying, you know."

**-------------------------------------------**

Silver was running along the plains, racing towards the source of this fire. Suddenly everything around him got cooler and darker. Did the sun move behind the clouds? That couldn't be: clouds didn't make an annoying humming sound. He looked up and saw the olive underbelly of a massive airship advancing past him.

As soon as he noticed, the ship began to let loose its payload, sparking new forest fires all around. The constant concussive blasts deafened the humming of the engines. Silver realized that he could easily run to safety, but such senseless destruction couldn't be allowed to go on. Using his special abilities, he began redirecting the bombs with just a wave of his hand. Suddenly all of the hatches had opened up and the bulbous bombs started to bombard him all at once. At first he tried hurling the shells back at the ship, but the onslaught escalated to the point where he was desperate just to get rid of the bombs, even if it meant causing a fire as the ship's pilot initially intended.

Just when the destruction seemed to die down, Silver noticed that a second salvo was about to be dropped. He was in way over his head. Just as the latches holding the rounds in place were released, Silver felt himself being propelled through the air, parallel to the ground. He flew some distance and the imminent bombardment suddenly became a distant eruption. He had the wind knocked out of him, but seemed unharmed. He suddenly heard heavy breathing. He looked behind and saw someone with spiny hair catching his breath. The stranger quickly put on a smile as he looked up at Silver.

**------------------------------------------**

Tails, still looking down at his knees, let out a sigh.

"It's just… it's so hard. I take it one day at a time, but it's not just for a day," he uttered with his voice starting to crack. "She was the only person I knew that I could do anything with. I felt like she understood me completely, even the things that I didn't tell her. I'm only 8 and now I have to go through the rest of my life without her."

"I know it's hard and I know that you can never replace her, but who knows what will happen? There were good times before you met her, and there'll be good times after. Besides, you still have that seed of hers."

Amy was starting to get desperate for words of encouragement, but it seemed that she had had some impact on him. Tails sat up and went to the windowsill, where he kept the seed. It was currently just a pair of leaves poking out of some potting soil. He picked it up, and then gently set it back down.

"Yeah, I do," he said, his voice wavering.

**--------------------------------------------**

"You better be more careful next time, that was a close one," the stranger said in an oddly cheerful voice.

"You're Sonic, right?"

"Yep!"

"Listen, I need to ask you a few things…"

"Sorry, but I'm looking for someone. Or 'something,' would be the best way to put it."

Suddenly the blue hedgehog took a few quick paces back. No sooner had this happened did a large pile of metal land where he was standing. The pile started to contort and unfolded into a vaguely humanoid form. It had large spines on its head and piercing red eyes.

"Oh, there you are. Thought you got away from me, did you?" Sonic jested. "You know, causing trouble is a really good way of getting my attention, and I'm sure that's why Eggbrain sent you."

The contraption wasted no words and raced after its flesh-and-blood lookalike. The two blue blurs flickered before Silver's eyes before they ran off deeper into the forest. As he was about to pursue them a large, purple hovercraft descended in front of him. Almost as if on cue, a floating metallic sphere gently landed inside the cockpit of the craft. Arms sprouted from the red and black orb and manned the controls. Two cannons protracted from the sides of the craft and it began to strafe around Silver's position.

Far above this scene drifted a small hover-pod. A familiar doctor sat at its controls, looking intently at the battleground bellow.


	6. Ch 6: Ravager

**Author's Note: These past couple of chapters have essentially been a modified retelling of "Angel Island Zone" from Sonic 3. There will be a few more Genesis-era Sonic references throughout my story, but I'm not doing strict adaptations of those storylines. The machine that ambushed Silver at the end of the last chapter is the Act 2 boss of Angel Island, added simply for the sake of nostalgia.**

He stood panting at the flaming pile of rubble that now lay at his feet.

"Behind you!" a voice cried out.

Knuckles quickly stepped aside to see a long pair of drills thrust past him. The drilling machine flopped harmlessly on the ground, struggling to turn itself around. The red echidna rewarded the effort with a massive dent in the mechanism's side, which halted its spastic writhing.

Blaze was taking a more patient approach with her adversary. She gradually wore it down with a constant stream of flames while effortlessly dodging its attacks. Eventually the drill she had focused on overheated and its metallic shell began to melt.

During their prolonged pursuit, a couple of drilling devices would break off from the main group every so often to serve as a distraction. This had failed several times, and now the drills were just trying to slow them down by engaging them head on. The one that they were after, the one with the emerald, was still out there. Knuckles was in a hurry to find it, but Blaze had accepted that their window of opportunity was quickly shutting.

She had a good idea where the emerald was heading, as the good doctor had briefed her before she left. All that she was focused on was keeping her unwilling scarlet companion alive and getting whatever information that she could out of him.

After mopping up the rest of the group, the duo pressed onward towards the approaching inferno.

**--------------------------------------------**

After Tails' mood had rebounded, he finally noticed the forest fires in the distance. He also spotted a certain flying fortress. It wasn't too hard to place the owner. Tails rushed to the hangar to get his latest plane ready. Amy tagged along, hoping she might see Sonic.

**--------------------------------------------**

The two blue blurs had fought to a standstill. Their conflict consisted of little more than extended bouts of running with a few quick jabs erupting whenever one caught up to the other. It was less of a fight and more of an aggressive race. It came to a point when attacking was futile because any strike would invariably miss and only serve to slow down the one who attempted it. The race had become a waiting game. Each competitor did nothing but try to anticipate when his foe would slipup and thereby leave himself open.

Silver's struggle was much more straightforward. Egg Robo, as the mechanical globe had introduced itself a moment ago, pursued his quarry with dual flame throwers. Silver used whatever he could as cover, often carrying the cover with him as he ran. A flame thrower was a good counter against him: his specialty was in manipulating solid material: gasses were still difficult for him.

Silver tried using his surroundings to deter his hunter, but whatever rocks he hurled only bounced off of his target harmlessly, even when he aimed for the pilot's chrome dome. Any attempts that he made at moving the craft itself were met with an infernal eruption from the ship's cannons.

Although Silver and Sonic's fights had initially diverged from each other, they began to move closer together again as Sonic and his double looped around the forest and came back to where their skirmish started. The four combatants found themselves at a large stream connected to a waterfall. Silver and Robo fought near the base of the falls, while the two runners chased each other in the background. The metal Sonic had lured its organic prototype to this location in hopes of drowning him.

Just when Silver had begun to doubt his efforts, he noticed the falls above him and inspiration struck. Silver levitated himself above the antagonizing purple pod. As he had hoped, Egg Robo had cocked his canons upward to aim at the silver hedgehog. When the ruthless robot looked up, he was met with a downpour that flooded his flame throwers. Silver was still inexperienced at the art of diverting liquids, but his attempts had paid off. With his defenses now defunct, the bloated orb found his craft suddenly lodged in the side of a cliff with a single jerking motion.

Silver breathed a sigh of relief, but quickly brought his attention to the remaining metal-head. Concentrating, his eyes scanned for its position. When he saw it, he immediately lurched forward and clenched his hands, as if he were going to physically grab it.

Sonic had noticed that his metallic twin had suddenly stumbled. He took this opportunity to knock it off balance. He expected to hear a thud, but instead found his competitor dangling in the air, plucked from their race track.

Silver strained to keep the droid in its place while it flared its engines, attempting to break free. Not wanting to risk turning it loose, Silver used his remaining energy to heave the artificial hedgehog into the river, where it was swiftly carried downstream.

"I wonder if it hates the water as much as I do," Sonic jested. He then glanced at the pale lad who was wheezing on the ground. "How you holdin' up?" he asked brightly.

"Fine," Silver sputtered. "I don't think I've ever tried to stop something that fast before. I used to think that weight was the only thing that I needed to worry about."

"Yeah, it's best not to underestimate the importance of speed. Still, remind me never to get on your bad side," Sonic chuckled. "But then again, I'm much faster than that robot."

Just then Sonic heard the muffled roar of a distant engine. He looked at the horizon and saw two small aircraft. One was a spherical pod and it was being trailed by a biplane.

"Eggman? Tails?" Sonic raced off.

Silver sighed, too exhausted to follow.

**-------------------------------------------**

The doctor had overstayed his welcome. He was fleeing towards his airship, but Tails was quickly gaining on him. Aware of this fact, his egg-o-matic swooped down into the trees bellow, hoping to evade its bulkier pursuer. The plane swooped overhead, seemingly ignorant of this maneuver. The two-tailed fox quickly vanished from sight.

Not wanting to push his luck with the rapidly enclosing formation of trees ahead, the doctor decided to come to a stop, rather than attempt a U turn. Suddenly a metal claw wrapped around the side of his ship, and a tiny tank was attached to it. The two vehicles collided and were driven into the side of a cliff. A pile of rocks unsettled from the hillside and draped over the Plexiglas domes which sealed each craft's cockpit. Both pilots were now trapped under the rubble.

Rather than try to make a bulkier and more costly plane, Tails had scaled back with this new model. It was small and made of relatively simple components, but made up for this in its speed and maneuverability. Instead of an overly-intricate transformation sequence, the plane would simply discard its wings and bring out a pair of treads and act as a tank whenever it was needed on land for an extended time.

Underneath the rubble, the two windshields were practically pressed up against each other; the doctor had a clear, face-to-face view of Tails and Amy and vice-versa. His face was pragmatic and focused, while the two youngsters were winded, but relieved.

"Don't worry Amy, someone will find us soon," Tails tried to boost her spirits.

This was an unnecessary precaution. "I hope it's Sonic," Amy said swooning, "think of it: being rescued from an avalanche. How romantic…"

"I hope it's him too," said their unwilling guest, cracking a smile.

"I don't see what you're so happy about. When he sees what you've done you're gonna be in big trouble!" Amy yelled over Tails' shoulder.

Tails was wishing he were somewhere else right now. He found himself literally caught in the middle of an argument. He intentionally tried not to listen, examining the surroundings of his tank in hopes of finding some way out of this.

"Why were you playing nice with us when you were just going to torch a forest for no reason?"

This had caught Tails' attention.

The old doc grinned and replied: "It's not my style to kick someone when he's down."

At that instant Tails and the doctor's gazes became linked.

"But that's not because it's dishonorable or a dirty tactic. It's because it's a waste. It's far better to raise someone up just so that they can fall again. The language of morality, telling others that there's hope when there really is none, is all simply an act. If I could use it to mislead and control you so easily, imagine who else in your life has done the same thing…"

"What are you talking about?" Amy asked indignantly.

_It was a lie. Everything he said to try and cheer me up, he didn't mean a word of it_, Tails told himself.

He ignored Amy's question. He exhaled deeply and removed his glasses. It was probably the first time that anyone had actually seen his eyes. In spite of how much of a well-kept secret his eyes were, they were unremarkable. He leaned forward, leering intently at the fox boy in front of him.

He began in a cold tone with a twinge of feigned sympathy: "Are you depressed, Miles? Do you feel all alone now? Has your life been relegated to nothing more than putting off half-finished projects and whispering sweet nothings to that weed? I mean, what are you expecting? Are you hoping for her to fly in through your window on a moonlit night? Then again, I suppose it's hard for someone your age to understand the concept of acceptable losses. Of course, I'm sure to you it was more of an act of murder."

His words were icy sickles in the boy's heart. It took a deal of effort to keep up his determined façade, not wanting to break down in front of his aggressor.

Amy had no retort. She was aghast at the thought that the doctor, or anyone for that matter, could utter anything so vile in the face of a child.

"There are no miracles, kid. There is only science. What little control you have over your own destiny can only be achieved through work, not wishing. You can sit in your room, asking for something until your voice turns hoarse, but you won't be any closer to getting it. The time of magic and legends is coming to an end. When someone's gone you can't bring them back, no matter how hard you try. As for the seed, the best you can hope for is a look-alike, or maybe a tree."

Amy had had enough. Furious and with tears collecting in the corners of her eyes, she slammed the window with her fist. "Sonic'll kill you when he finds out about this!" she cried as her voice began to turn shrill.

"I expect no less," he sneered. Quickly glancing at his watch, he added: "remember kids, you don't want to stay in your dreams for too long, or else you may not wake up!"

As soon as the doctor had finished his tirade, Tails and Amy found themselves tossed about as something collided with their plane.

A drilling machine carrying a massive emerald bored into the side of the boy's puny invention. It plowed through the engines and ravaged the tank treads. Eventually the drills became mired in the mangled mechanisms that used to be Tails' ship. Not satisfied, the drill proceeded to shove the two kids aside so that its master could free himself. The drill then attached itself to the Doctor's egg-pod. The massive airship now loomed overhead and whisked him away, Master Emerald in-tow.

Knuckles and Blaze raced to the scene. They were both quickly passed by a blue streak that fled up the side of the cliff. Sonic was quickly deterred from his pursuit by a downpour of shells that fell from the sky. With a quick motion, Blaze detonated the bombs in midair before they could reach their intended targets.

Knuckles abandoned his chase and tended to his young friends. Their ship was mangled, so he had to tear apart what was left of it just to get them out. They were shaken but were fine, at least physically.

As the smoke cleared, the flying fortress was already long gone. Sonic slid down the cliff side. Catching the bad guy would have to wait for now. He was first greeted by Knuckles and the two exchanged their usual jibes and (un)pleasantries. Blaze tried to interject at various points in the conversation.

Tails sat in the dirt, looking away from everyone else. Amy stood close by, not sure how to comfort him. Sonic made his way towards them, and she went out ahead to greet him.

"Is Tails alright?"

She had smiled slightly when she first saw him, but the look quickly faded from her face. She looked around, unsure if the others were listening.

"No," she mumbled, almost ashamed of the fact.

"What happened? Is he hurt?"

"He's not injured, but… I can't talk about it here. I'll tell you tonight."

Sonic showed momentary concern, but decided it was best to leave it at that for now. He was about to head back to the others when Amy stopped him.

"Sonic… promise me you won't run off."

Ordinarily Sonic wasn't one to do what Amy asked of him, but he knew this was different. "I won't. Count on it," Sonic said assuredly.


	7. Ch 7: Second Guessing

**Occasionally in this story I refer to Silver as being subservient to Blaze, but she's not necessarily older than him and she didn't actually teach him how to use his powers in my story (and probably not in the games, either). I just refer to him as such because she tends to lead him along the way and she acts more mature than him (most of the time).**

"Sorry, I don't know anything about this monster. If I did I probably would've put a stop to it already."

"What about these 'emeralds'? Any idea where they might be?"

"I haven't seen any since our adventure in space. Even when I was traveling all across the planet I couldn't find any."

"Speaking of which, what have you been doing this whole time, Sonic?" Knuckles interrupted.

"Well, first I was fighting some pirates, then there was an evil knight and a genie. Oh, and there was a werewolf, too. It's a long story, but then again you never seem to have anything to do so I'll tell you later."

Knuckles grunted in annoyance. "I'll forget I heard that. Sonic, I wouldn't get too friendly with her if I were you. Don't you know what usually happens when someone is looking for the emeralds?"

"I can see why you'd be concerned, but I have no interest in the stones themselves," she clarified, "I'm just making sure that they don't fall into the wrong hands."

"Well you certainly got off to a good start today," Knuckles muttered.

"It's in good hands. I've been briefed about the events in this time period. I knew this would happen at some point. It was a bit sooner than expected and I was hoping to prevent it, but I know where the emerald has been taken and what to do next."

"That should make things much easier," Sonic said with relief.

Knuckles couldn't let it be that simple. "Am I the only one here who sees the big problem with all of this? Minutes after the Master Emerald was stolen, this stranger shows up, looking for the emeralds, and claims to have all of the answers for us. How do we know she isn't working for Eggman and just trying to lure us into a trap with this time travel story?"

"There is no way for you to know for sure," Blaze put it bluntly, "Since you wouldn't believe me, I'm not going to tell you where the emerald is. You two are supposed to figure it out on your own, anyway. When the time comes and you see me again, remember not to get in my way."

With that she left. Knuckles was thinking of pursuing her, but he was halted by Sonic.

"Calm down Knux, she hasn't done anything. Besides, wouldn't it be boring to get the emerald back so soon? Try to have some fun with this."

"You idiot! What could be fun about losing the thing that I protect every day? What's fun about your friends being in danger?"

"If you can catch me I'll tell you!," Sonic teased as he ran off.

Knuckles groaned and didn't even bother chasing him.

**-----------------------------------**

Much to her displeasure, Blaze found her aide lying on the ground.

"Having fun?" she asked bitterly.

"I'm just catching my breath. I got into a scrap, but I managed to find our target."

"So did I. Both of them, actually. They don't know anything."

"So what do we do now?"

"We wait for further instructions. The doctor was supposed to send us a message. It should be around here somewhere. Get up and help me look."

As the two walked through the charred remains of the forest, Silver noticed a shadow flickering through the bald tree trunks.

"Someone's following us," he whispered.

"I know."

"What are you planning?"

"Nothing, it's of no concern."

"What? We can't just let this happen."

"Relax, I'm almost certain of who it is."

"Who is it, then?"

"If I had to guess, I'd say it was Mephiles…"

He responded with a puzzled stare.

"Right, I never told you about him, did I?"

Silver shook his head.

"I suppose the fitting term for him would be 'twin'. He's Iblis' other half. In spite of that fact, he's completely different in nature than his 'brother'. Mephiles is cunning and elusive. However, he lacks any power whatsoever. He's like a ghost; he can't hurt us and we can't hurt him. My parents used to tell me stories about him. They were among the few people ever to meet him face-to-face. There'd be no point in chasing after him; it's like chasing a shadow."

"Ok, so what if it isn't Mephiles who's following us?"

"Like I said, it's of no concern. Virtually no one knows that we're here, and Eggman isn't the type to act rashly. Even if he knows about us, he'd come up with a plan before trying to come after us."

"I can't just let this be."

"Relax, this is a good sign."

"How? How can this possibly be good?"

"Why would someone be following you and I specifically? The only possible explanation is that we're close to finding the doctor's message and someone doesn't want us to find it. That someone can only be Mephiles. He's actually helping us find the message, you know. As long as he's following us we must be close, whereas if we were far off he wouldn't care what we were up to."

Just then Silver noticed a pristine metallic capsule lying in the dirt.

"You see?," Blaze said reassuringly.

Silver opened the canister and glossed over the message. He was caught by surprise and proceeded to scrutinize every inch of paper in his hands, seeing if he had missed some detail. He handed the message to Blaze, who read over it a few times and then burned it.

Silver was stunned.

"Sorry to be overly-thorough about this," she said sternly, "but I need to make sure that we're both on the same page here."

He nodded.

"You know what we have to do, right?" Blaze wanted to be sure that her accomplice had no doubts about their mission.

"Yeah. We were supposed to be looking for the two people involved in this incident, but it turns out that Sonic wasn't just 'involved.' He's the one who's going to release Iblis, and we have to stop him by any means necessary."


	8. Ch 8: Agony

**Author's Note:  
The reason why I had Silver and Blaze find out that they needed to stop Sonic after traveling through time (rather than before) was to make the characters more acquainted with the rest of the cast. If Silver and Blaze showed up out of the blue trying to kill Sonic they wouldn't be very appealing and they would look like antagonists right off the bat. The plot-related explanation for this is that most historical records were destroyed by Iblis, hence why they didn't have immediate access to this information about Sonic. Also, it would be implausible for Chris to be brought along if their goal was to kill Sonic.**

**I may have smudged/fudged a few of the minor details in this flashback in terms of the order in which events progress. Some changes were intentional, but if something doesn't seem quite right it's probably just because I didn't think it was that important.**

Amy looked out the vast, cold windowpane in front of her. She was huddled together with most of her friends in an otherwise empty, lifeless room. The only immediate object outside of their spacecraft was that pulsating planetoid that threatened their very lives. Minutes ago, their newest friend had jumped ship and landed on the planet, trying to slow down this catalyst in whatever way she could.

"Cosmo…," Amy murmured.

Vector broke the ice in an unusually serious tone. "Cosmo… what's going to happen to her?"

"Eggman, sir?," Bokkun asked nervously.

Eggman's voice came on the intercom, devoid of any feeling. "If we try to remove her from the planet… the whole thing will blow. Her kind, the Seedrians, can control their own ages. She's slowed down the reaction, but she's used up all of her remaining time to do so.

"No, that can't be!" Charmy cried, "he's wrong, isn't he?"

"It can't end like this!" Knuckles shouted. "There has to be a way to stop this without hurting Cosmo. Well Chris, isn't there?!" he yelled vehemently.

Chris wiped a few tears from his face. "I'm sorry…," he whispered.

Everyone was silent. Knuckles became inconsolable.

"What's wrong with you all?! Don't you understand that if we don't act, Cosmo's going to die?!"

Tails uttered a sharp gasp. His face became deadpan, his eyes wide and vacant.

"Do you have a plan, Eggman?!" Knuckles demanded. "What about you, Tails? Are you going to do anything about this?!"

Rouge cracked Knuckles on the back of his head with her palm. "Stop it! Are you really that callous? Can't you see that we all feel the same way?"

"Everyone," Tails declared weakly. "Can you please… please leave?"

The room was muted.

"I need some time to be alone."

Everyone filed out of the room without saying another word.

Tails silently began the preparations for the Sonic Driver. He was going to continue with Eggman's original plan, knowing what that would mean.

"Lock the cannon into place and take aim. Get ready, Sonic," Eggman announced.

A massive shaft unsheathed itself from the body of the ship. Sonic and Shadow, already powered up to their super forms, were using their own energy to charge the cannon. The device's task was to vaporize the planet, and everything on it, before it could complete its cataclysmic reaction.

The others were in a separate room. Chris was at the forefront of the group. "Here it goes," he said mournfully. Cream had started to cry in Amy's arms.

Eggman's voice flooded the intercom with a sense of urgency. "Everything's ready! The time to fire is now!"

"Right!" Tails had barely mustered the energy to say this. His hand gripped the control. His thumb disengaged the trigger's safety precaution.

His mouth began to quiver. His eyelids began to clench together, forcing out the tears that he had held back earlier. His hand began to tremble and soon shook violently. A staggered squeak escaped the corner of his mouth as he tried to hold back his cries of hopelessness.

It was no use.

He reared his head back, uttering a serrate scream, and then slammed his head on the dashboard.

"I could never do that," he whimpered, "I don't want to. I can't do this to Cosmo."

He reengaged the trigger's safety.

He looked out at the planet, stammering in his words. "Wasn't it a promise?"

"You told me that we would find a new life together after this was over!" he screeched at the emptiness.

Eggman voiced his concerns in a guilt-ridden manner. "Tails… do you want her sacrifice to be pointless?"

"This can't be happening…," he gasped. "I can't shoot her!"

"Do you know how she must be feeling right now? You know her better than anyone, so surely you understand what she would want."

"I know…," he gruelingly confessed. "But… I can't…"

He was silent for a while, but suddenly looked out the window with less bleakness about him.

"Cosmo, you never caused me any problems. I've always been happy to help you."

His tears began streaming in full force.

"It's just so hard…," he stumbled. "Because…"

No one uttered a word. Everyone else aboard the ship shared the same feeling, albeit far lesser in magnitude than what Tails was experiencing. They had all finally realized, for a brief moment, the exact significance of this moment. Never before and never again would they experience this epitome of passion. Their hearts churned as they each realized what they had truly put the boy through; they each reflected upon the wrong choices, however minute, they had made that had brought them to this tragic conclusion. Each one of them now knew exactly what the next words out of the boy's mouth were going to be.

In spite of all the selfless and courageous acts that each of them had achieved, in this moment it all meant nothing. Everyone's conscience became clenched with guilt. The most painful realization for them was that this feeling would soon go away. Not only that, but they would forget even having it. For Tails, it was a different story. He would endure a far greater pain constantly, forever. This was why, for that moment and none other, each of them truly despised themselves… for getting off easy.

"Cosmo…"

Miles stood up, summoning all of his strength for what he was about to do.

"…I love you!!"

He swiftly removed the safety and jammed his thumb into the trigger before he could give it another thought.

His heart wrenched in unison with the button's earsplitting, rigid click.


	9. Ch 9: Imagined History

**Author's Note: I'm very proud of my work on the last chapter, even if a lot of it wasn't actually my own writing. I modified some of the dialog from the Japanese version just so that it would seem more in-character. I'm aware of the fact that I may not have described the events exactly as they happened in episode 77, but it doesn't really matter. This chapter below will probably be the last chapter where I rely on a lengthy flashback from the actual series, so expect to see 100 percent of my writing from here on out. There's a reason why I left out Cosmo's words from that episode in the previous chapter; I'll explain why bellow.**

_Tails. For all of the problems I've given you, please forgive me._

_Cosmo, you never caused me any problems. I've always been happy to help you._

_Tails… what I really want is for you to fire._

_It's just so hard… because… Cosmo… I love you…_

_I'll never forget you for accepting me. I always thought that I was useless, that I was unable to do anything and that I couldn't do anything for anyone else. But you helped me regain trust in myself and this feeling will never disappear. Tails, I'll love you forever._

Those were the words that he had remembered hearing on that day. Now he was beginning to wonder if he had actually heard them at all. Did he just fabricate them in order to ease his pain?

Tails and Amy had been dead silent ever since they arrived back at Cream's home. They said nothing about what had happened and they asked to be left alone. Tails didn't have the strength to act like his calm, happy-go-lucky self, so he simply tried to rid himself of any emotion. He sat quietly at a desk, facing away from her.

Amy didn't know quite where to begin. Her voice was hushed.

"Tails… I know this has all been so difficult for you, but remember what she wanted. She saved us all; she saved the galaxy. It was her goal in life: it's what she was destined to do. I know she's happy and proud of you, wherever she is."

She heard a few sniffles. Tails raised his hands, as if to rub his eyes, but instead he slammed them on the desk.

"It's a lie!" he cried. "Cosmo never planned ahead. Her hand was forced because we were too weak to do it ourselves. If I had just brought the cannon online sooner, it wouldn't have ended like this…"

"Don't blame yourself! We were all there and most of us stood by and did nothing. You did more that day than any of us ever could."

"There was nothing you could've done. It was just us out there. Maybe Eggman talked me into it and maybe he didn't, but in the end I was the one who fired. I couldn't even think of blaming Cosmo. And as for Shadow, I don't know if it'd be right to blame him. He may not have survived, either. The only one left to blame is me."

"What about the metarex? …and Sonic?" she was afraid to add.

"She was all alone… not just on that day, but for her whole life. She just needed someone who cared. I could've been that someone, but instead I was…" his voice trailed off as he sobbed uncontrollably.

Amy then noticed that the door was open a crack and Cream was peering inside, frightened at what she was seeing.

"Go get your mother. Quickly," Amy ordered, her eyes still misty.

"Please… just leave me be," Tails stuttered.

Amy grabbed a hold of him gently, starting to cry as well.

"I won't leave you," she whispered.

**--------------------------------------------**

When Sonic arrived at the house, it seemed abandoned. The lights were on, but not a single person could be seen through the windows. Suddenly Sonic felt a pair of arms clasp around him and lift him off the ground.

"Sonic!" a voice cried cheerfully.

"Chris?!"

He immediately let him down.

"Sorry about that," Chris said bashfully. "It's just been a while, you know?"

"Heh, Amy didn't say anything about you being here. Long time no see, kid."

Chris gave a slight frown that Sonic couldn't remember his real age.

"Listen, I'd love to catch up, but… how have they been doing?" Sonic asked.

"I don't know. They didn't say anything when they got here. I'm not even sure what happened. Everyone's upstairs right now, no idea why."

They both turned their heads in unison when they realized that Amy was standing in the front door.

"I think maybe I should sit this one out," Chris said with unease before he went inside.

As soon as he left, Amy ran over and embraced Sonic, starting to get teary-eyed all over again.

As always, this made Sonic uncomfortable, but he decided not to fight it this time.

"Listen, I'm glad to see you too but I really need to see what's up with Tails."

Amy immediately let go of him and blocked the doorway.

"Don't. He doesn't want to see you, and I don't think you'd want to see him like this, either."

"Why? What happened?"

"We were on Eggman's trail. We had him trapped while that forest fire was going on. He tried distracting us while one of his robots snuck up on us. He started talking about Cosmo."

"And?"

"He talked about what happened to Cosmo like it was nothing. He even ridiculed Tails for still feeling anything at all about it. After that, it was like Tails was reliving that day all over again. I mean, how can anyone just say something like that to a kid?"

Sonic didn't know what to say. Amy sighed and continued for him.

"What I don't understand is… it seems like there's something between you and Tails."

"What do you mean?"

"I've been looking closely at what he's been saying and it's like he blames you for what happened, but he's too humble to admit it, so instead he blames himself. Normally he talks about you quite a bit, but when the topic of Cosmo comes up and I mention your name, he just changes the subject or ignores what I say. What happened to you two on that day?"

"Nothing, I wasn't even there. All I remember is that he just seemed sad that the only part of Cosmo that I managed to find was that seed, but that was it."

"What do you mean 'that was it'?" She sounded offended.

"What? He was sad that his friend was gone. If I had lost one of you guys I'd sure be sad when I heard the news."

"Cosmo wasn't 'one of the guys'."

"How? She was our friend, too. She was one of us."

"Do you even know what this is all about? This isn't the time for your jokes, Sonic!"

"Who's joking? Cosmo was Tails' friend and he misses her. What don't I get?"

"This was never about a friend. Tails loved her. He was _in_ love with her and I know for a fact that she felt the same way about him."

Sonic was about to say something, but his voice trailed off and he averted his gaze from Amy.

"Didn't anyone tell you what happened?"

"I didn't ask. I didn't even think that there was anymore to the story than what I already knew."

"Didn't you at least think that there was something going on between them? Didn't you see the signs?"

"I guess not."

"Do you even understand love at all?" Amy's voice became mournful as she started to cry again. "Is this why you don't like me? Or is it that you just don't care about any of us?"

"Amy, you know that that isn't true."

"Then why did you run off so quickly when we returned home? Didn't you think that he needed you? Did you think that maybe I needed you?"

"Other people needed my help. It's what I do."

"Well we need you. Once you make Eggman sorry for what he did you can come back here and help Tails. I won't tell him what you said to me because you're going to tell him yourself. If you don't then you can forget about ever being welcomed here again!"

With that Amy slammed the door in Sonic's face.

He slowly trudged away from the house, stopping every so often to see if maybe she would change her mind.

He may not have known everything that had happened that day, but there was something that he would never forget.

Drifting in the blackness of space, Tails stood at the edge of the observatory, staring at the aftermath of the planet's destruction. A great deal of time had passed since the threat had subsided, so Tails was feeling some semblance of normalcy. Sonic approached him from behind with a stern look on his face.

"Sonic…"

Sonic grabbed him by the hand and placed a small white pellet on his palm.

"Here Tails. I'm sorry, but we weren't able to do anything else."

Tails stared at the seed for a moment then clutched it in his hands.

"It's not true! Just a second ago that was Cosmo! Well? Tell me it's not true!"

Sonic voiced no objections to this conclusion.

"I thought that you could save her… I believed in you Sonic, I believed in you!"

Tails slumped to Sonic's feet; he let out a piercing wail that devolved into woeful sobbing. Sonic closed his eyes, straightened his stance and tightened his expression. He made no effort to comfort the boy; he didn't even look in his direction. He tried not to take Tails' words literally. He tried telling himself that what Tails really meant was that he missed Cosmo and was sad that he'd never see her again. In actuality this was true, but deep down Sonic couldn't bring himself to accept that. On that day, Sonic wanted to forget the deep shame that he felt. For the months after it happened, all he wanted to do was run away and forget.


	10. Ch 10: Precautions

**Author's Note: Most fanfic authors that I've seen have rewritten the scene between Tails and Sonic that occurs in the final episode. Even 4Kids tried to rewrite it :P. I decided to leave it in and expand upon the moral and emotional implications of Sonic's inaction, rather than just put something in that would have been more comforting. Don't worry, this isn't one of those fics where Sonic turns out to be a heartless monster or a villain, I'm just trying to give him a few chinks in his armor. We'll get back to that issue later on.  
The Japanese version of episodes 77 and 78 will be seen as what actually happened in this story. The English version of 77 and 78 will be Sonic's interpretation/imagining of the events (since he wasn't there for most of it). When Sonic tells Amy what Tails said to him after handing him the seed, I'm loosely alluding to the English dub of that scene (although it was the Japanese version that actually happened in my story, as I've already said).**

He had a piercing headache, his vision was blurred and he could smell something burning. The last thing that he remembered was hearing a noise in the middle of the night and checking to see what the commotion was.

He couldn't move his arms. He felt himself being rocked to and fro. He was lying on something that was definitely not intended as a sleeping surface. He realized that he was being carried somewhere. He wasn't even so much concerned with escaping as he was with getting a chance to get the kinks out of his back.

"He's waking up," a monotone voice declared.

"Then our target is probably awake by now, as well. We'll rest here and wait for him to come."

Omega gently laid Chris on the ground and unbound his wrists. He looked around and saw Blaze and Silver deep in contemplation. Off to his side he saw Cream and Cheese, fearful, but relieved to see that he was ok.

"I'm sorry it had to come to this, Chris," Blaze began. "You're not going to like what we're going to do today, but I hope in the long run you'll understand that it's for the best. We were hoping that you wouldn't have to see this, but when you stumbled upon us taking the girl we couldn't let you warn the others."

"I don't know what's going on, but if you think you're going to get away with whatever this is, you're sadly mistaken. They'll find us."

"Indeed."

Blaze pointed in Chris's direction, but she wasn't pointing at him. He turned around and saw a narrow black line seared into the ground behind him.

"A trail?"

"We wanted your friends to find us, but we had to make sure to cover some distance beforehand."

"That way he'll make it here before the rest of them can catch up," Silver added.

"You mean Sonic?"

"I know that you're good friends," Silver said in a dismissing fashion, "I'm sure that if he knew the whole situation he'd gladly sacrifice his life anyway, but since that's not the case we're going to have to take matters into our own hands."

"What? But how could you? Sonic's saved the world more times than anyone can count, and you're just going to get rid of him? Just yesterday you said he was supposed to help you!"

"I'm afraid we had a few crossed wires," Silver remarked without sympathy. "We know now that his actions will cause great devastation, so we have to stop him."

"But Sonic would never do that! There has to be another way."

Blaze stepped in, trying to assuage the boy's concerns. "No one here doubts his intentions. In all likelihood he never wanted to release Iblis, but we know that he will."

"Can't you stop him some other way? Can't you talk him out of it?"

"Maybe that would work…," Silver mused, "and maybe it wouldn't."

"We're not going to leave peoples' lives up to chance. This is the only way to be sure."

"If he was in your place he'd never resort to this."

Blaze sighed. "I admire his ideals, but they don't have a place in a situation like this. We've had to do everything that we could just to get this far and we can't let our personal feelings get in the way now that we're so close." She frowned as she looked away from the boy. "After the disaster, my family took it upon themselves to avenge the destruction of our world, hoping to save others from our fate. My parents didn't raise me; they trained me for this day and this day alone. They hated themselves for depriving me of my childhood, but they didn't let their feelings get in the way of what needed to be done."

Cream, moved by this tale, sniffled as she tried not to get teary-eyed.

"I'm the only one left now, and if I'm to honor that sacrifice I must show the same dedication that they did." She turned to look back at Chris. "I'm not doing this because I have something against him. I'm doing this for him."

"Sorry to interrupt," Silver said blatantly, "but our stalker is back." He motioned towards the nearby hilltops where a dark, jagged silhouette could be seen lying prone in the grass.

Blaze quickly regained her composure. "Which must mean that he'll be here soon. Omega, get them out of here, Silver and I can handle this. We'll contact you when we're through with him."

Chris tried to run, but found himself held in place by some unseen force. He looked over to see Silver staring back at him with his hand making a clenching motion. Omega tied them up again and took over.

The robot carried them both through a small clearing and they found themselves in a new environment entirely. Earlier they had been in a dirty valley, but now they found themselves on the coastline. Up ahead, in the great bay, a handful of towers could be seen rising out of the water. This didn't deter Omega as he continued marching towards them, Chris and Cream in tow.

Silver and Blaze began their warm up routine.

"Remember, his fighting style is a natural counter to mine, so don't expect me to pickup your slack," Blaze cautioned. "Use everything you've learned."

Suddenly the wind picked up and a muffled roar could be heard. It immediately died down, and where there was once settled gravel now stood a blue hedgehog with a tower of dust kicked up behind him.

"Well, it's been nice knowing you," Silver said nervously.


	11. Ch 11: Skirmish

**Author's Note: I haven't said much about Mephiles in this story because he strikes me as a mysterious villain and I didn't want to thrust him into the limelight so soon. He'll gradually reveal himself as the story progresses. **

**In the Sonic X adaptation of Sonic Adventure 2, Chris took the place of Amy as the one who convinced Shadow to save Earth from the Ark. In a way I've continued this trend by making this same replacement and having Chris take up Amy's role of trying to talk Silver and Blaze out of killing Sonic (I haven't played Sonic '06, but I'm pretty sure there was a scene like that between Silver and Amy). **

Knuckles was paddling his way around the shore. In spite of his bulky extremities, he was a fairly accomplished swimmer. He sensed something out here, but he was beginning to wonder if he was mistaken for once. Just then a metal spire erupted from the water in front of him. Along with it came a few other identical towers. He never should have doubted that there was something under the water. He instinctively grasped some scaffolding that arose next to him. He had come this far, so he didn't mind hitching a ride to the top of this thing.

As he climbed the rest of the way, Knuckles decided to settle for the nearest window and hoped that he wouldn't run into anything while he got himself situated inside. He quickly flipped into the recently opened pane.

He rested momentarily until he heard someone else enter the building.

"Did you miss the ladder or did you just think you needed a workout?"

"Oh great, just what I need," he grumbled.

"So what'd the doctor do this time?" Rouge asked in her usual manner of pouty aloofness. "He never answers my calls when he's planning something."

"Don't play dumb, I know you're working with him. How else could you have gotten here?"

"Just now, the same way you did, only I didn't get wet. It's not exactly a talent to notice something odd about buildings going in and out of the water."

Knuckles groaned. "Just stay out of my way! The emerald's mine, you hear?"

"Emerald? Sounds tempting, but for once I'm going to have to pass."

"That's a first."

"I actually came here for something else. Maybe if I finish early I can take that rock off your hands."

"Keep dreaming, dingbat!" Knuckles ran off before she could get a word in. He always hated it when she got the last laugh.

"An insult with the word 'bat' in it? Gee, I've never heard one of those before…"

**----------------------------------------------**

Sonic was running almost horizontally across the steep, mossy hills that were strewn about this otherwise dusty stretch of gravel. Every so often his footing would slip as the hillsides would give way. He also had to keep an eye out for the occasional fireball. This wasn't so much dangerous as it was annoying. If he had known what he was going to get himself into, he would have gone in quickly and finished this fight before it began. That opportunity was quickly left behind as he wasted precious minutes second-guessing his new rivals' intentions and then taunting their abilities.

The couple that he had earlier brushed aside now stood within a swirling vortex of flaming debris. This was a precaution on their part, since neither of them had the close-range skills to deal with someone who could move faster than they could think. Sonic was trying to build up enough speed to punch through this barrier without being torn to shreds or burnt to a crisp. This was made difficult by the constant obstacles that the otherworldly duo threw his way in order to hamper his pace.

Eventually he came across a large, flat rock that jutted out of the hillside. He didn't know if this formation had been the design of that colorless hedgehog, but it was about to be that newcomer's undoing. Sonic accelerated to his maximum running speed, tucked himself into a ball and sprung off of the rock like a pinball flipper. He directed himself toward the center of the fiery maelstrom.

Just before plowing through the swirling barrier, he tried to slow his impact. It would be difficult to punch through this shield, but he also didn't want to flatten whoever he might end up hitting. He intentionally drove through the center of a large boulder that was being hurled through the air. His body recoiled as it came into contact with one of the two time travelers.

In an instant Blaze found herself flying parallel to the ground steadily, only for her body to be tossed about aimlessly as she was skipped across the gravely ground like a rock whipped across a pond surface.

Sonic was at a loss for his next move, worried that he may have gone overboard. Just then he was lifted off the ground and his legs snapped together in a rigid pose.

"If you can hear me, now would be a good time to fire!" Silver shouted in desperation to his mentor.

She was still reeling from that last blow. The context of the situation had become discombobulated to her. She snapped to attention at the sound of his voice and sent a stream of flames in Sonic's general direction. Not wanting to miss, she tried covering as wide an area as possible.

Sonic realized that he could still control his arms. He tried moving them back and forth rapidly in order to slip out of the boy's grip. His legs were still clasped in place. With the inferno imminent, Sonic swung his upper body forward, attempting to topple himself over. He regained control of his limbs, but he was still locked in place in the air. He started spinning rapidly in place. The flames parted from the wind this generated and he finally freed himself. Silver was too exhausted for a follow up.

"Alright kids, break it up," a loud voice crackled amidst an influx of static. Silver eyed his personal communicator and saw a cue-balled man with an orange mustache on the screen. "Sonic, I know you can hear me. It seems there's been a change in custody. I have your friends now. We're really close by. You know the drill."

"Well, it's been fun," Sonic said mockingly, "don't get yourselves into any more trouble."

Once again, Silver had no rebuttal for the blue blur as he tried to regain his strength. In spite of making no physical contact with his enemy, he felt that he must've pulled something when he was trying to hold him in place. He hobbled his way over to his distraught colleague.

She sat hunched over with her hands at her temples. She ran her fingers through her hair, which was now draped messily about her head. She had never been so humiliated. The battle for the fate of the world had turned into someone else's play date.

Silver placed his hand on her shoulder.

She appreciated the gesture, but now wasn't a time to get soft. "We'll take five and then we're right back to it."

**---------------------------------**

Rouge was crossing the catwalks in a vast, dank lab. Ascertaining that nobody was patrolling the room, she dropped down from the walkway. Stacked against the walls were health monitors in varying states of disrepair. At the center of the room was a large glass tube lying flat on the ground with numerous thick cables sprouting from both ends. She wiped away the dust. She knew that Eggman was never the type to leave a story unfinished. Apparently, he had repeated his old plans as well.

Inside of the tank he slumbered. If not for quick thinking and a bit of luck, he would have been the second martyr on that fated day.

"There won't be a snooze button this time, Shadow," she quipped.


	12. Ch 12: An Unpleasant Captivity

**Author's Note: Sorry for giving Silver and Blaze the shaft in that previous fight scene, but I wanted to illustrate just how much of a tough cookie that Sonic is. Blaze and Silver aren't necessarily weaker than Sonic (in my story), but they weren't fully prepared for what they were up against and got overwhelmed. Most of you probably don't care about it, but I know a surprising amount of people who obsess over "omg, this person would totally win in a fight" kind of stuff.**

**Shadow's back. I'm not a big fan, but I couldn't leave him out of the story forever. His fate was vague in the American version of Sonic X, but the Japanese version makes it clear that he's still alive (which is odd, because usually characters are more likely to survive in dubbed anime). **

"So you're just going to run off already? That's no way to thank someone who just thawed you out."

"I would have gotten out of there eventually," Shadow said with certainty. "Besides, I have no reason to stay."

"If you haven't noticed, I'm the only ally that you have left. It's painfully obvious that the doc doesn't have your best interests in mind. I mean, how many times have you been stuck inside of a tube because of an obese scientist?"

"I don't need anyone, and that includes you. I'm not going to waste my time stealing common jewels when I have more important things to be doing."

"…Such as?"

"Think. He didn't just retrieve me. There was something else that was left behind in space, something that you two always seem to be after." With that he fled into the deepening darkness of the abandoned corridor.

Rouge sighed and added in a blasé fashion: "That's the second time today. Do I have a sign written on my forehead or something?"

**--------------------------------------------------**

Chris was fed up with all of unfamiliar locales that he had been dragged to in just a two day span. His current lodgings were the worst of them all. He was in a claustrophobic glass container. In spite of his recently decreased size, he still didn't have enough room to stand up. At least this time his captors had the courtesy to leave him awake.

To his left was Cream, comforting her diminutive azure companion. Further down was Omega. He had been partially dismantled and was nothing more than a torso shaped like a canister. Perhaps it was a safety precaution, but most likely it was done so that he could actually fit inside of his cramped transparent cell.

In spite of his current situation, Omega handled things with a sort of quiet dignity about him. His tiny head swiveled in Cream's direction: "Remain calm. If they were going to hurt us they would have done it already."

Somehow the butchered automaton's words failed to comfort his fellow prisoners.

Just then a sliding metal door unsheathed itself from its frame and in strode their host.

"Don't be so sure about that," he assured his captives in a twisted manner, "sometimes it's more satisfying to let them wait first."

Chris and Cream both gave him a stern, rejecting glare.

"I'm surprised, actually," the plump megalomaniac began, puzzled. "Usually you're the ones who are cheerful. I can't say that I dislike this change of pace."

There was still silence.

"Oh I see, you're still mad about what I did to the boy. You're not even totally sure what I did, but the fact that I was involved is enough to make you bitter. I can relate to that. So, do you want me to tell you what I told him?" he inquired with some enthusiasm.

"I'm sure we don't have a choice," Chris muttered bitterly.

"Well, now's as good a time as any. How to begin… I guess you could say that I grew annoyed by the current state of things. Not just annoyed, but disgusted. I tried to explain it to you all on that calamitous day when the war was won, but you refused to listen. So, I figured it was time to give Tails another lecture. As I've explained: a seedrian dies when it reaches adulthood. Cosmo gave up the years of her life as a sacrifice. It was her life in exchange for ours. I understand this perfectly. The rest of you, in your arrogance, still feel shortchanged by this deal. You want to have it all; you're unwilling to accept that bad things happen to good people. Just be happy that you didn't lose anyone else and move on already."

"We all know what happened," Chris quickly replied, irate. "Some of us just have the decency to remember her sacrifice instead of forgetting it."

"Did you even listen to a word that she told you? She didn't want you to remember, she didn't want you to worry. Am I the only one here who was listening? She was just a plant. By her own admission she was born to die and do nothing else. How can you miss someone like that?"

Cream and Cheese began bawling in their cell. Chris couldn't take this.

"How can you be so cruel? I thought maybe you had felt something on that day like the rest of us, but I guess I was wrong. Even if she didn't want us to worry, we can never forget someone like her. If that meant so little to you, then why do you keep bringing it up?"

"It's because of him."

"Sonic?"

"He's tried to forget, but not in the way I have. I've tried to forget because the matter is closed, as far as I'm concerned. She's dead, there's nothing I can do, best not to dwell on it. He, on the other hand, tries to forget because he wants to pretend it never happened. Why else do you think he ran away as soon as you came back to Earth?"

"Stop it!" Cream cried.

The doctor groaned slightly, then continued. "He doesn't see the world like we do. Everything's like a kid's show for him. To him, good always wins and nobody ever gets hurt. Oh, how wrong he turned out to be… That's why I'm so fixated on that moment: it was his greatest failure and he knows it. It's proof positive that everything he stands for is flawed. Not just flawed, but wrong."

"Please…," Cream sniffled in her usual squeaky tone. "Please stop, Mr. Eggman…" In a display of naïveté, Cream had hoped that asking nicely would somehow make him more inclined to stop. She held Cheese tight. Their crying continued for a time until their captor became visibly aggravated and kicked their cell. Cream immediately hushed herself in shock.

"My name… is Robotnik;" the doctor was trying to hold back a boiling rage that this little girl couldn't begin to understand. He decided, in order to teach her a lesson, he'd let a little of it out. "And don't ever speak in my presence again! You understand?"

Cream nodded in quiet terror.

Chris was stunned. "You've lost it…," he said, his voice masked by fear as well. "You're absolutely out of your mind."

"Crazy? No, I'm not crazy. Do you want to know who is crazy? Someone who would run headlong into trouble with a grin on his face; some whose pride would get in the way of telling a mourning child what he needs to hear."

**------------------------------------**

Knuckles' senses had led him outside again. He was closing in on the emerald. In between the various towers, he noticed a vast peak rising in the center of the other structures. At the base of this peak was an enormous, rounded metallic surface. It was as if a small moon, with a large mountain on its surface, was rising out of the water with the other towers serving as a sort of "net" to keep it from drifting out to sea. Inside of this colossal structure, he sensed the emerald being held.

He dropped down, not bothering to wait for the structure to come up out of the water completely. He landed on a sort of dock that was connected to the base of the tower. Every second he spent here meant more climbing he would have to do when he finally made it to the emerging structure up ahead. Suddenly a familiar chrome globe descended from the sky and unfolded into its stick figure-like form.

"You again? I was hoping that I'd get to teach you a lesson before I got my emerald back."

**-------------------------------------**

From the look of things, Silver must have been in a pretty high-security area, considering its upkeep. However, he had yet to spot a single sentry. He was hoping that maybe this meant that Sonic had already been through here and that he was on the right track. This had been too easy: nobody intercepted him as he carried Blaze to the amphibious base, let alone now.

"No sightings yet," he relayed to his partner via his communicator. They had both figured that it would be difficult to find Sonic until Eggman put him in one place, so they split up and kept in contact.

He glanced through the numerous windows that lined the length of the hallway. They all shared a view of a single, massive room. More like an empty hangar, actually. The vast chamber was barren of any craft or even any objects. At the end of the hall was a modest door, one that he figured must not be monitored. Through this portal, much to his surprise, were three occupied glass containers and a stocky doctor who seemed to be expecting him.

"Don't move," he said.

"Drop the formalities, kid. You know that I'm on your side. We both have a hedgehog problem and I even went as far as to kidnap the same people that you kidnapped. Your goal is no different from mine."

Silver tried to think of something to justify his immediate disliking of this presumptuous scientist. "It wasn't my goal to trash my own robot." He glanced over to Chris and Cream, who were quiet but had pained expressions. "And I didn't want anybody to get hurt."

"…except Sonic."

Silver already grew flustered.

"He'll be here any minute," Robotnik reminded him. "You see, unlike you he didn't cheat by getting a layout of this place beforehand."

"And how do you know that?"

"Oh, I know everything." The doctor flicked a switch and the floor panels beneath Silver's feet became electrified. Silver's body became limp and he collapsed in a pile on the floor. Robotnik switched off the current and rushed to grab the boy's communicator.

"Oh Blaze…," he called slyly. "I know you've been listening in on our little conversation. That's fine, because you're going to want to see this. I've decided to carry out the mission personally, and in a far more theatrical manner, I must add."

"So, you were here the whole time?" Chris inquired scornfully. "I expected better of you. Even the real Eggman wouldn't stoop to this."

"I could say the same for you," Robotnik said almost as an afterthought. His demeanor became sober once more. "I've learned that I was wrong to idolize you. You see, after a little digging around I've discovered that you weren't the revolutionary scientist that everyone thought you were. My ancestor developed the first portal technology. Your grandfather stole these plans, and you mooched off of him."

Chris didn't respond because he couldn't grasp what Robotnik's point in all of this was. None of this made sense. Why would a distinguished scientist throw his comfortable life away out of spite? How could he hold a grudge against people that weren't even around when he was born? Chris was even beginning to grow concerned about the real Eggman's whereabouts.

Just then an alarm sounded. Robotnik instinctively shut it off and then opened the sheet metal blinds in the room. Through the bulletproof windows he looked down upon the vast chamber that Silver had passed by a moment earlier.

Sonic had wandered in some time ago; one of the towers rising out of the sea was just close enough to a Cliffside for him to jump onto it. He then used the linked network of scaffoldings to make his way towards this central construct. He told himself that Eggman must have some trap planned and he surmised that this would be the perfect place to spring it. Unsurprisingly, the doors slammed shut behind him. The lights brightened to reveal a guest; the duplicate that he had fought yesterday stared at him intently across the room.

"So you've finally made it." Robotnik sounded relieved. "You're hard to reach. I only had to burn down a forest to get your attention."

"If you wanted to send me a message, you should've used Bokkun." Sonic smirked, knowing that it would be a while yet before things got serious.

"He didn't suit my tastes. So it's just you today? No weepy sidekicks, sassy love interests or edgy antiheroes in our performance?"

"I guess," Sonic shrugged off the obvious commentary on his friends.

"Perfect. Just one man and a hedgehog: the way it used to be; the way it should be."


	13. Ch 13: Confrontation

**Author's note: Just to be perfectly clear: the Eggman in this story is actually Robotnik (the one from Chapter 3). The only time that Eggman has appeared in this story (so far) is the flashback in Chapter 8. I'll explain the logistics of this "switcheroo" in greater detail later on.**

He stared at her almost endlessly. He didn't know what to say, he just wanted to enjoy the moment. He smiled brightly. She returned the favor, but she could never smile as wide as him. Although she had that typical "plain and tall" look about her, he had never encountered a more welcome sight.

Her hair was always cut perfectly so that her front tips would hang tantalizingly close to her eyelids. To others maybe it seemed like she had an odd combination of a modified bowl cut in the front with fat, stubby pigtails that stuck out like horns, but to him the whole ensemble was one of her more wondrous features.

He noticed that something was off about her hair. It had gone from a natural, grassy hue to a bright lime. He thought little of it until it began to change before his very eyes. It slowly transitioned to an unbecoming shade of mustard. She didn't seem to notice, and he awkwardly pondered what to say. The process continued during this time, moving from a yellow tone to a deep, dark brown. Eventually the pigment became richly purple, like a ripe and swollen black eye.

As Tails was about to say something to her, the parts of her that were once green began to scorch away, leaving a crinkled, tan husk. Tails winced and looked away. He rebuked himself. He couldn't get upset over something trivial like appearances, and she obviously must be sick. He had to be there for her. He turned back, expecting to meet her gaze once again, but saw nothing. He panned to the left and to the right, but still nothing. A foul odor caught his attention. He looked down and his eyes were met with an ashen pile of brush.

Tails managed to pry his eyes open. Another dream. He was almost catatonic as he lay in bed. He had thrown the covers off and, in spite of the icy breeze, made no motion to throw them back on. He stared at nothing in particular, gradually absorbing his surroundings through sounds and sensations alone. It finally dawned on him where he was and what his situation was. He had already known, but this was the first time he had pondered it since yesterday. It was insisted that he lodge here for a while; he was told that a little boy shouldn't be all by himself in such a vast workshop.

He quickly jerked to face the window and saw the seed nestled there in its pot. He remembered the three local sleuths swearing on their lives that they'd bring the plant here safely, even though Tails was far too lax to make a demand like this. Ever since the Chaotix (in their endless meddling) first tried to play matchmaker with Tails and Cosmo, they had adopted a silent understanding of his emotional pangs.

He felt guilty for taking up space in this already crowded home. He also hated being on everyone's minds, especially after overhearing what had happened to Cream and Chris as he slept. He didn't want to burden a household that had just lost its only daughter. It's true that kidnapping is surprisingly common in this neck of the woods, but with how unpredictable Eggman's been lately, nobody's safety can be guaranteed. The doctor wasn't going to go easy on them; it was in Sonic's hands now.

**-----------------------------------------**

Sonic and Robotnik stared each other down.

"Nothing to say? Have you realized it yet? Do you see now that beneath that smile, cocky composure and raging id lies nothing? You keep running to avoid the truth. And that truth is this: without your skills and your thirst for adventure, you're just empty."

"Why so rude, Eggman? If those words came from someone else they may have actually hurt my feelings. You know, you've lost your touch when it comes to playing tricks."

"I'm not trying to trick you, and this isn't a game. If anyone here is being cruel, it's you. I'm just trying to get the boy ready for the real world; you're the ones who are trying to sugarcoat everything."

"I can see why you need glasses, but I didn't think you needed a hearing aid, too. Do you see Tails standing here? Did I mention anything about him? I don't think so. Why don't you focus on what's in front of you?"

"Ah yes, changing the subject, a typical defense mechanism. You like to pretend that it didn't happen. I'm sure that you tell yourself that she lives on in the spirit of every plant or that the planet egg's explosion scattered the seeds of her clan or something equally insipid. You tried to bring her back but you failed. When you're dead, you're dead and you don't have the spine to admit this to the boy or even yourself. And of course, that's looking past the fact that technically you were the one who killed her in the first place. You were the bullet in the gun, after all. I can't even imagine how you'd be feeling if you were willing to acknowledge that."

"Let's see if you'll be saying that when I get up there."

"Fair enough, I suppose it's time we got down to business." He cleared his throat. "While you were off on your little vacation, I was hard at work. As thrilling as a scavenger hunt sounded, I decided to take a more direct and subtle approach with my plans. I'm sure that you haven't seen any chaos emeralds during your trip: that's because I've already gathered them all in secret. You just left them there, waiting to be used. It seems all that you're good for is putting out fires. I can say that it's roughly your speed."

He held his arms out in an ostentatious pose. "I have brought them here. This isn't simply another base, it's a launch zone. Today I will use the power of the master emerald and the seven chaos emeralds to christen my latest creation. We're standing inside of it as I speak. Think of it as a spiritual successor to the Ark; I call it: the Death Egg."

With that, a panel opened up beneath Robotnik's observatory. In it were the seven chaos emeralds, just as he had pointed out. Suddenly they began to shine. Sonic diverted his attention to his silent doppelganger, which was beaming in a familiar golden glow.

**--------------------------------------------**

Knuckles charged his annoying foe.

Egg Robo immediately vaulted into the air, keeping himself there with the aid of a jetpack. He withdrew a concealed pistol from one of his compartments and fired upon the ruby echidna.

Knuckles sought cover, but got nicked by a laser as he ran behind a support beam.

The comically plump assassin circled around his target's shelter. The echidna must have had the same thought, because no matter how quickly he strafed he invariably found his target on the other side of the beam. Egg Robo tried swiftly changing his direction to throw his prey for a loop, but even this didn't work. The two must've synchronized their movements so perfectly that Egg Robo couldn't even see a hint of the little devil anymore.

This is exactly what Knuckles wanted him to think. In truth, he was playing a game of cat and mouse with his newfound rival, but what his opponent hadn't counted on was the fact that Knuckles was now above him, not below him. He lulled the robot into believing that he had the high ground with that jetpack of his, but he never even thought to look up. Knuckles jumped off from his perch atop the beam and snatched the bulbous bot from the sky.

After a rough landing, Egg Robo reached for his blaster, only to be met with two hulking fists hammering down on his chrome dome.

Even with its head smashed in, the machine continued to twitch as it tried to situate itself. Impatient with the idea of letting it make the next move, Knuckles decided to give it a helping hand. He hoisted it up by its jetpack and ran towards the edge of the dock. The robot's remains snapped free from the jetpack as Knuckles was about to fling it into the water. Not knowing what to do with the disconnected jetpack that he now held in his hands, he decided to throw that overboard as well.

He then made his way towards what he now realized was a sizeable ship. Fortunately, he managed to grab a hold of the hull before it completely left the water, but the time wasted in that previous fight meant that he had a lot of climbing ahead of him.

**----------------------------------------**

Not since battling Dark Oak had Sonic faced odds like this. At first he appreciated the learning curve, but he began to realize that he may not make it out of this one. Not only did his mechanized foe nearly have him beat in speed, but he also had to deal with the fact that this duplicate was far stronger and was immune to any harm.

"The power that brought the two worlds together, condensed into a single being. When you think about it, isn't it mind-boggling? You can't win. Even you can't deny that there's at least one person that's absolutely stronger than you, and that's Super Sonic."

"Yeah…," Sonic panted, "but I can handle a cheap knock-off!"

Sonic used his spin dash to plow into the golden clone. It took the force of the attack head on. The impact was so minimal that the machine would have wasted more energy trying to move out of the way. The metal Sonic used a variety of energy-based attacks, putting little thought into accuracy. It certainly possessed the knowledge to kill its archetype quickly, but it didn't need to resort to any sort of cunning to win this fight. In the course of its mechanical mind, this was more of a maintenance check than a mission. It wanted to make sure that each of its abilities were working as intended.

Periodically Sonic would devote his efforts to attacking Robotnik directly or to try to break the emeralds' case. His metal counterpart would only become more aggressive when he tried this and would effortlessly put a stop to it anyway. Still, Sonic couldn't let himself get discouraged; this was his only chance for survival.

As he grew tired, he lost the luxury of dodging his opponent's attacks. Now all that he managed to get away with was damage control. His most focused efforts only rewarded him with glancing hits from an energy beam or allowed for his opponent's blows to land in non-vital areas.

Eventually he collapsed on the ground. That voice, that inner drive of his was screaming at him to keep going, but his body couldn't comply. Knowing its enemy was defeated, Metal Sonic methodically strode towards its victim.

"Any last words?" Robotnik queried gleefully.

"Yeah. You think I've lost our little game, but really it's just no fun anymore."

Robotnik snarled; he had hoped that he had broken the hedgehog's will by now. No matter, he had an ace up his sleeve. He lowered a projection screen that showed the hedgehog's captive friends.

Three glass containers, each with contents completely different from the one next to it: a human, a rabbit and a robot.

Robotnik held up a remote to the camera. In an overly dramatic motion, he pressed one of three buttons on the device.

Without delay, a weighty metal plunger came crashing down from the ceiling, smashing Omega and his cell into pieces. Chris gasped and Cream let out a shriek. The plunger then ground itself into the floor in a twisting motion for good measure.

Once again Cream began sobbing uncontrollably. "Mr. robot… Mr. robot," she whimpered.

Robotnik let out a tiresome groan. "First they grieve a plant and now a robot? You only knew him for, what, a day? In my time kids weren't so soft. Well, if an artificial life means so much to you, then I'm sure it's no difference if I try this out on the real thing!"

Sonic was in awe, but before he could react, his robotic replica clasped its claws around his throat. Sonic shook about in a tantrum, trying to free himself.

"Let's see, who's more expendable? Hmm… you're both pretty useless; perhaps if I tried for a twofer…"

Suddenly the power flickered off, only for the backup generators to come online. Robotnik glanced at the emeralds' case, but quickly did a double-take. They were gone, without any sign of the panel being shattered or opened.

Sonic's body became limp and the hue of his quills deepened to pitch black. The fair-colored aggressor only tightened its grip. The darkened hedgehog lifted a single hand, seemingly to free himself from this vice.

Instead, he jammed his fingers into his foe's surrogate eyes. He plunged them in as far as he could, taking pleasure at the various plinks and snaps that he felt as essential internal mechanisms were forced out of the way to make room for his extremities. He drove his other hand into the automaton's midsection. With a single motion he tore the machine's head from its body.

As various security drones flooded the room to buy time, Robotnik immediately dropped what he was doing and hastily input a code on a nearby terminal. A panel in the wall opened up, revealing a vast, transparent pipeline. A hefty green gem appeared almost instantly in the tube, no doubt summoned from some unknown district of this vast complex. The doctor fished through his pocket for a slip of paper. He placed his hand on the stone as he read from it.

"The servers are the seven chaos. Chaos is power, power is enriched by heart. The controller is the one that unifies the chaos."

The colossal rock glowed. Robotnik peered out the window nervously. He saw the seven emeralds materialize and fall to the ground at Sonic's feet. He breathed a sigh of relief as he sank to the ground. He looked up again and found himself staring at an ebony-haired hedgehog, pressed up against the glass like a squirrel to a tree. When their eyes met, Sonic grinned at him devilishly.


	14. Ch 14: Animosity

**Author's note: Yep, Dark Super Sonic. The creators of Sonic X opened a huge can of worms when they introduced this concept but didn't do much to develop it. For those of you worrying that I've wasted Omega's character (even though he's kind of dull anyway), never fear. I'll write more about him and his history later on in the fic. In the previous chapter I needed some motivation for Sonic to enter his Dark state, and I figured that if Robotnik just threatened his friends Sonic wouldn't think much of it (because Eggman did that all the time). I needed Robotnik to take it a step farther and make good on his word. **

Before Robotnik's expression could even change, Sonic's fist slammed through the window and grabbed him by the collar. Due to its durable nature, the rest of the shattered glass stayed in place. An intense heat radiated from Sonic's dark form, which caused the glass to melt away in a molten slop.

He was frazzled. "This is impossible. This is impossible!," he kept repeating to himself in futility as his coat became singed.

Sonic breathed calmly and smiled once more. "You know… I'm normally not very patient. I'm always looking for the next big thing…" He opened his eyes to stare at Robotnik with an odd sort of approval. The doctor was aghast in silence. "…but for once I feel like sitting back and enjoying the moment. Remember what you told me the last time I was like this?"

"No…," he reluctantly admitted. All of his historical information had been gathered from the Blue Typhoon's security tapes and a certain expert source. So of course he had no immediate recollection of this terrifying transformation.

"Then let me refresh your memory…"

Robotnik winced, expecting something to happen. Instead he saw the dark hedgehog pondering. Apparently he was a bit sketchy on the details as well.

He was still calm, but a sense of annoyance was beginning to emerge in his demeanor. "You told me that I needed to control my temper, that I should never lose control. But here we are. Since you knew this would happen, I've gotta ask you something: What in the world made you think that this was a good idea?" Sonic pulled him in closer.

The doctor made a muted gulp and tried to mask his anxiety. "I wanted to see if you were worth my time. I wanted to see what you'd do if I didn't pull any punches. It was all a test."

Sonic mulled this over for a little bit, then let out a half-hearted cackle. "So it's a test you want? How about I test how strong an egg's shell is?"

Just then he noticed something out of the corner of his eye: his friends. Their visage was one of relief rapidly being replaced by terror, in spite of the threat of Robotnik being a nonissue at this point. He let the doctor's coat slip from his fingers and the plump scientist took this as his cue to make a getaway. Sonic paid no mind to him.

"Coward…" Robotnik thought to himself as he sprinted out of the room.

Chris breathed a sigh of relief, but Sonic's unintentional act of mercy did little to sway Cream, who was still trembling.

He approached slowly and popped the lids off of their containers. Cream politely refused to let Sonic help her out of the cage, so Chris had to do it instead.

Chris ran to the wall panel where the master emerald had been, but saw that it, too had escaped their grasp. It must have been whisked away to yet another part of the facility.

"You know, for a second there I wasn't sure if that was really you," Chris said nervously.

"Yeah…," Sonic trailed off. "I guess I never got around to telling you guys about this." His tone changed abruptly. "I'm getting you guys out of here. The day's still young, you know."

"What about him?" Chris asked, motioning towards Silver.

The pastel hedgehog began to stir, but became wide-eyed at the sight of Sonic.

"What are you doing?! Get rid of those emeralds before it's too late!"

Sonic eyed him quizzically, until he realized that he was still in his transformed state. He squinted and focused his energy, but he was at a loss when he remembered what happened. "Oh, I already dropped them in that big room down there… so why am I still like this?"

The air around him began to ripple.

"Does anyone else think it's getting warm in here?"

No sooner had he said this that an intense, fiery aura began to envelop him.

**-------------------------**

Robotnik's heart staggered as he tried to put as much distance behind himself as he could. A foot emerged from the doorway and his doughy torso met the ground with a stinging crash. He quickly turned around to see his former friend looking down at him with disgust.

"You know, I wasn't so much confounded in trying to figure out your identity as I was in trying to guess your motive. I never expected this from you."

"Well Blaze, I guess you could say that I was never the type to do what was expected of me."

"You could have at least let me know that you used the time machine, too. So far you've only put this mission in jeopardy; this isn't a contest to see who can kill him first."

"The mission? That's of no concern to me anymore. I've given you everything you need to succeed. I'm here for a far greater purpose. Like you, I want to change the world. I want to grab these loose reigns and get humanity back on track."

"And you intend to do that here? The world of our time was far more willing to accept your control, not to mention that there were actual humans in our time."

"True, but it's already too late for our world. The source of humanity's woes lies in this world, and I must extinguish that threat."

"Then why are you interfering? Our goals are the same."

"You're mistaken. You see, Iblis isn't the problem; it's only a symptom of something much greater. You've already met them, right? Don't they make you just want to gag? To think that they're the ones that my people look up to."

"What, those kids? You're threatened by kids who are just trying to live their lives?"

"Funny, you weren't so concerned about that when you tried to kill him. Then again, I suppose it makes sense that you'd be sympathetic. You could have turned out like them, but you were one of the good ones."

"That's what this is all about? They…" She corrected herself. "We welcomed you into our world with open arms and this is how you repay us?"

"Oh Blaze, you've got me pegged all wrong. This isn't about races or species or whatever you'd like to call it. I have no issue with what they look like or where they're from. The problem is the way in which they choose to operate. Their outlooks on life are so nauseatingly simple. Still, I'm only after the one. You know who I mean; his influence is the most malignant of them all. I can at least pardon most of the others for being young and naïve, but he's old enough to know better. He's an icon to my people as well as yours, and he's our greatest threat."

Blaze's interest and patience had already grown jaded by this discussion. "And this isn't because he's the Iblis trigger?" she asked halfheartedly.

"You have no idea. Still, you're free to continue your mission. I'll cheer you on, even. Why else do you think I handed over the emeralds so easily? You can fight Iblis with my blessing, if you'd like. I'm sure that creature has already become active at this point."

At first she couldn't believe what he had said, but she began to sense the growing power close by. "You knew this was going to happen and did nothing to stop it?"

"I was hoping to kill that hedgehog before he could release the beast, but in all likelihood this would have happened anyway even if I managed to succeed. You know, the longer that Iblis is left alone, the stronger it's going to get. The clock's ticking. So what's it going to be, Blaze? Petty revenge on me or saving the world?"

She ran off in a huff. Robotnik finally decided to get back on his feet. "Goodbye, Blaze."


	15. Ch 15: Reunion

**Author's Note: I'll explain how Dark Super Sonic caused the release of Iblis. I think I'll stop pointing out when I'm going to explain something later because there won't be much exposition in this first plot arc. If there's something about the plot that doesn't seem to make sense, most likely I'm on it and I'll get around to clearing it up when things in the story calm down a bit.**

It was early afternoon. She slipped in through the screen door; it was starting to rain. He had already set two cups of cocoa on the tacky kitchen table. She hopped herself onto the stack of books on the chair; it was certainly not made for someone her size. His thoughts seemed to be mired in distant, important matters, but he smiled politely back at her.

From afar they looked like grandfather and granddaughter, although the disparity between their ages wasn't quite that vast. She ran her fingers across her hair, trying to squeeze out the rain drops from her feathery mop top. Even in her soaked casual clothes, she still resembled a pressed, prim and uniformed boy on the first day of school.

"How was your morning?"

"Fine."

"Meet anybody new?"

"I guess…"

His eyebrows perked up. That wasn't her routine response.

"Who?"

Her eyes didn't drift from the glass in front of her. She continued in her typical apathetic manner, "some kid. I think he was a beggar or something. I didn't say anything to him."

"Why not? Maybe he needs a place to stay."

"It's not my problem."

"It wasn't my problem when I took you in," he sighed in disappointment. "Go back out there and find him. He can stay here."

She turned to peer at the downpour outside, then back at him.

"Don't give me that look. He doesn't want to be out in that rain, either."

As she treaded out of her living quarters, she cursed herself quietly for opening her big mouth. Why didn't she just say nothing like always? That train of thought came to a violent halt as the faded skies brought back unwanted memories. There was a time, ever so recent, when there were no warm and inviting walls in her life to keep the rain out.

Instantly her thoughts focused less on where she was and instead on where she was going. She hoped that little boy hadn't drifted too far. She wasn't afraid to return empty-handed, but she was now fearful that the boy might.

Years later, she found herself in this same pursuit. She raced through an unwelcoming territory to find the one whom she forgot. Like before, she just had an unpleasant exchange with her elderly and enigmatic custodian. Again she cursed herself for forgetting the one who means the most to her.

She reduced the door in front of her to a pile of charred flakes, and stepped over them with care. Just ahead were the seven shining stones, thrown about the floor as if they were useless trinkets. She gathered them up in her arms, but she began to feel lightheaded as she tried to resist their influence.

_As long as I have these, I'm not too late._ She made her way to the war torn observatory that overlooked the room. A massive, jagged tunnel with a width of some countless yards had been plowed into the ceiling and for once the sky was made visible. Lying on the ground were the four kids and a lone Chao. They all seemed to stir at once, perhaps awakened by the noticeable effects of the emeralds' energy.

"It's happened, then," Silver still couldn't believe it. "The monster's loose… he still managed to get loose," his voice became more hopeless. "We got here first, we had it all planned out and it still didn't work!"

"Then we're going to have to stop it," Blaze said, trying her hardest to ignore the gravity of the situation. Now wasn't the time to let this get to her.

"But no one can!" Silver desperately tried to convince her.

"Because they didn't have these," Blaze said with a hint of optimism as she motioned towards her armful of glowing rocks. "I just received new orders: we have everything we need now."

"Wait," Sonic interrupted with his usual enthusiasm. "You weren't planning on fighting that thing without me, were you? After all, I was the one who set it free… I think."

Sonic couldn't understand the significance of his actions that day, and he wouldn't for some time. All that he knew was that before he went off the deep end, just when it looked like Robotnik was going to kill his friends, he was overcome with a fury unlike any before: it was so much more than the first time he became Dark Super Sonic. He was impassioned, and a part of him wanted the arrogant doctor to be devoured by the most terrible demon that he could imagine, and that demon happened to be Iblis.

Silver and Blaze nodded.

"Chris, take Cream and get out of here. Don't wait for me, I'll find you," Sonic's tone suddenly became serious.

The younger, needier Chris wouldn't have considered leaving his friend to wage a lopsided battle, but now he didn't even give the matter a second thought; Sonic could take care of himself.

As soon as the tykes had left, the three of them got down to business.

Sonic placed each of his hands on the shoulders of his two newest allies. His tenderness quickly turned back into enthusiasm. "It's time for a crash course in saving the world."

**--------------------------------------**

Rouge had finally caught up to Shadow, who she found standing motionless in one of the base's many empty halls.

"I've never seen someone in such a hurry to do nothing."

"I was following the trail of the emeralds. There was a massive spike in negative energy, but it's faded now. The energy is now starting to climb in the other direction, but I can't quite locate it yet. The others must have made their way here."

"I thought you didn't want to waste your time looking for worthless jewels."

Shadow shrugged her off. "This place will crash land in the ocean soon," he stated matter-of-factly.

"Crash landing? You mean this thing is moving?" He didn't answer. After some thought, she clasped his arm. "Well don't just stand there, lead me to them!"

**----------------------------------------------------**

The monolithic fortress wafted over the seas, just barely able to escape the grasp of their waves. On ground level it looked like a massive cruiser straight out of science fiction, but a Birdseye view revealed its intended pattern. The classic Robotnik family visage was laid out in its design. The signature mustache had been formed into a bulky set of fins to make the ship more aerodynamic. The nose, which was towering perpendicular to the ground, served as an observatory and makeshift bridge. The eyes were two perfectly circular radar dishes which served to gather visual information far more reliably than any living source of vision. For the sake of functionality, the typical cue ball shape of the Robotnik family head had been flattened into a more oblong shape for the sake of making the craft look and act more like what it actually was: a ship.

A blood-red globe shone at the top of the Death Egg. Although this light was almost insignificant in scale to the ship, it was assuredly gargantuan on a personal level. At the epicenter of this light was the infamous creature. Formed from white-hot molten metals and rock, it had an oddly organic look about it. In its looks and demeanor were the ferocity of a young Velociraptor and the resilience of a crusty snapping turtle. It clawed and thrashed at whatever it was closest to. As it decimated one portion of the station, it simply moved on to the next. This dreary process of destruction was halted as the creature's attention was drawn to three intense beacons that arose from the depths of the vessel.

On the left was an off-white, cream-colored figure whose quills were now fluttering in some intangible breeze. To the right was the authority, dressed and groomed impeccably. Her body had gone from a pale violet hue to a shade of rose. The one between them beamed with a golden aura and unrelenting determination was engraved in his eyes.


	16. Ch 16: Clearer Horizon

**Author's Note: Well, this is the last chapter of this "saga." I decided to add in the flashback of Blaze to help develop her more, since she's supposed to be a socially awkward character and she's already been abnormally talkative about her past (for someone as reserved as her). Instead of her just plainly stating her past like in previous chapters, I decided to take a different approach this time.**

They both stood across from each other in the flooded alley. He pretended not to notice her. She wanted to tell him, but she couldn't think of a way of asking that wasn't awkward. Being blunt would probably be the best option; it was her style and the boy looked so filthy and neglected that he couldn't possibly say no.

He was noticeably shorter than her; he may have been younger than her, he maybe hadn't developed as rapidly or perhaps he was just naturally short (then again, it could have been the malnutrition). There was no way to place the exact explanation; they both had been left alone for so long, without a stable environment that neither of them could pinpoint their own ages.

She slowly approached, continuously stopping for inconsequential reasons. Thankfully he still wasn't looking. She tried various gestures and forms of body language to see which would work best. She mouthed the words to herself. Just when she thought she was ready, he turned to her.

"Do you have any food?"

At first she was a little disappointed, but then she smiled for once. This was going to work out perfectly. Not saying a word, she grabbed his outstretched hand and helped him up.

**-------------------------------------------**

As usual, Silver had bitten off more than he could chew. She had always told him not to put 100 percent of his effort into any attack. He did this anyway, knowing that she had his back. Their hands clasped and she pulled him out of the way of an incoming stream of molten material.

Things were not going well. In spite of that close call, the battle had been pretty uneventful. Iblis found itself being pummeled from three directions with little recourse. It was an incredibly powerful and destructive being, for certain, but it lacked anything comparable to a mind.

Every so often the creature would use some unforeseen, spectacularly devastating attack with no consideration for aim, but the beast would not even bother to use it again when doing so would bring the battle to an unmistakable conclusion. The creature was mighty, but was not persistent in the slightest, other than in staying alive. The three super-powered beings were mere annoyances that it paid little attention to after it became aware of their presence. Each of the heroes was beginning to wonder if Iblis was only attacking them by accident. It seemed more focused on destroying this station.

The slow pace of this fight had Sonic concerned, but more importantly he had grown bored. Before today he could never wrap his head around the idea of three chaos-powered warriors taking on a single opponent. Slaughter was the closest word that came to mind. The real-world application of this concept was monumentally underwhelming. Still, the simple fact remained that as this dragged on, the emeralds would get closer and closer to exhausting their power.

Fortunately Blaze and Silver found that their abilities were in full effect here. Iblis was solid, but also had a variety of flame-based attacks. This allowed the two to share the role of damage control. With their combined efforts they managed to slow the rampaging monster to a methodical trudge and soften the impact of its offensives.

Even with this handicap, Sonic still couldn't pierce the creature's defenses. Its makeup was so soft and malleable that any wounds would close up as soon as they were inflicted.

"I'll be right back, try to hold it in one place."

Sonic soared into the clouds, plunging farther and farther into the stratosphere until the sky lost all of its color. In an almost hairpin manner he reversed direction. Although curling into a ball would make the impact easier to endure, he wanted to make this as quick and painful as possible. He kept his hands at his side and dove headfirst, ignoring every impulse for his personal safety by pushing his speed to its upper limits.

Silver and Blaze were both taken aback by the sudden impact. By the time they even became aware of the strike Sonic had already passed clean through the entire ship and penetrated the seabed. The 'body' of Iblis was splattered across the hull of the Death Egg. In the center of the molten puddle was a pristine, neatly cut hole. Remarkably the craft itself still held together.

From the sea arose the hedgehog, expecting cries of "encore!" To his disappointment, however, he found his foe trying to reconstitute itself. It didn't so much regenerate as its pieces drifted back together lazily. Not even enraged by this impediment, the creature went back to its business as usual.

"Wait, wait, I've got another idea."

He flew in close and made contact with the creature's body.

"Chaos control!"

Sonic and Iblis both vanished. All that remained in their place was a raging fire, no doubt an after-effect of the creature's intense heat. A moment later only Sonic returned.

"I think he'll feel right at home when he reaches the sun."

Blaze considered the ramifications of this course of action.

Silver chimed in: "I suppose that would work. Even if Iblis does survive, there won't be any life there for it to harm."

"Hold on," Blaze said. "I can't understand why no one did this before. The artificial chaos emeralds of our time still had the ability to teleport objects, so this would have been a relatively simple plan to implement."

Suddenly the floor beneath them began to quake. Sheets and slabs of metal were torn from the ship's hull and they began to spin in place around the fire that remained in Iblis's stead. Faster and faster they revolved until they were a blur. The process escalated even further until the metallic contents of this vortex became white-hot and pooled together in a single pile. Arms, eyes and a snout sprouted from this mass and once again Iblis rained destruction down on everything around it.

"What? But how?!" Silver sputtered.

Blaze now understood the true nature of their foe. "Its body was moved, but its essence wanted to stay here. Rather than retrieve its physical shell, it simply decided to create a new one."

"Then how do we defeat essence?" Silver demanded.

"You don't."

"Whoa, hold on a minute," Sonic interrupted. "There's always another way, you can't just give up."

"I'm not," Blaze explained, "but you two have no choice."

"Huh?"

"Give me whatever power you have left, I'm the only one who can bring this all to an end."

"This isn't just your burden," Silver objected. "This is our fight. I came here to be at your side."

"I thought so, too. But now I know why I was taught this ability; I'm the only one who can destroy Iblis. Its spirit is a raging inferno: something that I can relate to and use to my advantage. You two can't even touch him, so there's no sense in wasting the emeralds' power."

The two hedgehogs hesitated.

"Trust me… please."

They were each reluctant, but they decided to channel their energy into her. Blaze's power surged and she slowly paced towards her target. _If he was willing to take them before…_, she told herself.

The creature had its back turned to her. A bright light emanated from her hands. For once Iblis paid mind to her. The seven chaos emeralds began to materialize in front of her, blindingly bright. Iblis began to move towards the ethereal glow with a sense of purpose that it had previously lacked. The only things that it craved were destruction and power, and this was its first taste of the latter.

As soon as it closed in, Blaze withdrew the emeralds' energy back into her own body. Iblis let loose an aggravated roar. Its body began to grow cold and colorless and a great flame sifted its way out of the now-metallic shell. This otherworldly force condensed itself within the confines of Blaze's form. Her body had now gone from a shade of rose to a hot pink, then a glowing orange. Brighter and brighter she shined as all of her color was replaced with piercing white.

"Are you alright?" Silver shouted at the top of his lungs so that his words wouldn't be lost in the wind.

Her condition had stabilized somewhat. She stood triumphantly and looked back. "He fell for the bait. Even now I can feel our souls becoming one. Iblis blindly wanted power, but by choosing to get it through me he's chosen a mortal life." She chuckled, a definitive deviation from her usual composure.

Silver annunciated more clearly: "but are you alright?"

Her arms became stiff and she widened her stance, as if the planet's gravity had somehow intensified. She tried to keep her mouth tightly shut, but tiny whimpers started to escape. This struggle continued for a time while Silver made his way to her, trying to fight back the intense aura that emanated from her. Then it all came at her at once. She clutched her sides and cried in agony as she toppled over. Now he was sprinting, even the boiling winds that sliced into his face couldn't stop him.

"Get back!" she sputtered. She turned to see Sonic already standing above her. "Get away from me, now!" Her voice was almost a roar. Neither of them budged, so she forced them back.

"Sonic!" an exhausted voice cried.

Knuckles made his way towards the others, but stopped to catch his breath.

"What was all that commotion? What's going on?"

"That's what I'm wondering," Rouge added as she seemed to emerge from nowhere with Shadow in tow.

"We're working on it," Sonic stated plainly. "Where have you been, anyway?"

"Trying to keep this place from going twenty thousand leagues under the sea," Rouge butted in. "You're all welcome, by the way."

"What happened to jewel-hunting, huh?" Knuckles inquired.

"They wouldn't have done me any good at the bottom of the ocean, unless if you were planning on getting them for me. Your head's probably thick enough to stand the pressure! Anyway, this place isn't going be airborne for much longer, even with our help. Chris and Cream had the right idea when I saw them hightail it out of here."

"Wait, Chris was here?" Knuckles dropped that line of thought for now to ponder the implications of this situation. "I'm guessing you guys didn't see the Master Emerald, then?"

"Chris did," Sonic began, "but he didn't see where it went."

Knuckles sighed. "Even if it is still here, I'd have to come back for it later. I don't have time to search this whole place while it's sinking; the Master Emerald can't be protected a drowned guardian."

**-----------------------------------------**

"It'll be alright, just let me help you!" Silver said, wavering.

"I don't have much time…"

"Don't talk like that! We can fix this!"

"The stones' power won't last forever… and right now they're probably the only thing that's holding me together. When I go, so will Iblis. It's done. Leave me; the sooner you put this behind you the sooner you and everyone else can live the lives that you deserve."

"I can't do that! I accepted this mission to save lives; I did it so that you and I could have a life together where the future wasn't something to dread."

"Just a moment ago you were trying to kill a creature that refused to die, and before that you and I tried to do away with our friend here, but you can't let me go when I ask you to?" she scoffed. "You're so naïve… I suppose that's what I always liked most about you," she added tenderly. "I'm just your guide, it's best that you forget me."

"No!" he cried. "That isn't true. You were never just a guide; there was never a time when I believed that and I know you feel the same way." He struggled with what to say next, trying to find some meaningful way to conjugate his feelings. "I… I don't know. All this time I've wondered exactly what it all was. What were we? Mother and son? Brother and sister? Friends? True Love? When I hear all of these words, the only person that comes to mind… is you. For most of my life I didn't know about family or friendship. I couldn't compare our relationship to any other… because you were beyond compare. You're the only one who really knows, so tell me: what are we?"

Blaze didn't even look at him. Painfully she declared: "I don't know…"

Silver grew disheartened and they sat quietly, ashamed of how little they understood their situation.

She gave it a lot of thought, in spite of the pain she was in. She tried to reassure him. "You were the only one for me, too. I didn't get any help from my parents. To me, parenting was just a contract; it was job training and nothing more and even that didn't last for long. My upbringing always made me closed off from others. You were the only exception."

This didn't seem to help.

"What difference does a name make as long as there's still the meaning? We know what we are, even if we can't say what it is. We don't have to explain ourselves to anyone, because we both know and that's what matters." Optimistic speeches weren't her forte, but her words seemed to do the trick.

The others had been overhearing this conversation, but figured it was time to step in as the ship began to sink.

"So how are you planning on getting out of here, Sonic?" Knuckles panted.

"You're not exactly fit to escape, either," Rouge stated.

"Will you stop interrupting for five seconds?"

"Listen up," Blaze shouted with her remaining strength. "I'll get you out of here. I can use these stones to send you anywhere, right?"

"Of course," Sonic said, his voice possessing only a fraction of its usual upbeat energy. "Just think of the ideal place and focus."

She nodded and turned to Silver: her faithful, beloved _____.

"Go with them," she told him gently. "I can't keep you all to myself. It's time you were free to find new friends, to find a family. I don't know much about these things, but I know that these people are good stock. Even if I barely know them, I can tell that they're right for you. They are like you, in a way."

Silver simply nodded, wiping the tears from his face.

Everyone formed a chain and Silver reached for Blaze's hand. Before their fingers could touch, he refrained and began to cry, something that he once thought he had long lost the capacity to do.

Shadow, who was at the opposite end of the chain, began to drag the others with him as he made his way to the tearful lad without even loosening his grip. Without sympathy, but also without a hint of malice or ill-will, he struck the boy. Not to harm him or stop him from doing something, but to simply snap him out of it. A single tear rested in the corner of Shadow's eye.

Sonic and Knuckles were befuddled by this gesture, but Rouge had some understanding of it. _If anyone knows about filling a last request, then it must be Shadow_, she assured herself.

Silver got the message. In a final tribute to their relationship, Silver and Blaze ended their time together the same way it began: their hands lovingly embraced each other as she offered him a chance at a new life.


	17. Ch 17: Convalescence

**Author's Note: Any-who, about Silver and Blaze. If anyone still had doubts, those flashbacks in the last two chapters were about Silver and Blaze as children.**

**Rather than just go for the direct route of saying that Silver and Blaze are in love, I decided to take a different approach. Just about all of the characters in Sonic X are "lifelong friends," meaning that they have no visible family members (with the exception of Cream and her mother). Silver and Blaze are no exception, but what makes them different is that, for the most part, they only have each other, whereas Sonic and the others have basically formed an entire extended family/community out of their friends. Now, obviously the main Sonic characters have developed "roles" in this family, like how Tails is treated as Sonic's little brother and Amy views Sonic as her love interest. But, writing this, I wondered what it would be like for two people who didn't know anybody else: what would they think of each other? That's why I didn't come right out and rigidly define their relationship. If you're a SilverxBlaze supporter, feel free to interpret it as a romantic relationship if you'd like, but I never had anything specific in mind for them and I wanted to leave it open-ended.**

**As for why I killed off Blaze instead of just sending her away, I always felt that Silver's ending in 06 (which I watched on Youtube, since I don't have the game) was a bit of a cop-out. It was clear that it was a sort of death scene, but they played it out as "traveling to another dimension" or something like that. It may not have just been censorship, like most fans would assume. It's possible that they downplayed the scene by softening the impact so that Sonic's death in the final story would be more palpable by comparison. Since my story is not a literal retelling of Sonic 06, I can take many liberties with the storytelling. Coincidentally, the first "season" of this fic was pretty much the closest to an adaptation of 06 that this story is going to get, so from here on out I'll be moving away from the themes, characters and events of 06. I may revisit a few of them later, but if so that will be much later.**

The early afternoon had now waned into the evening. Nobody spoke of their next course of action, because it was obvious that there was nothing that could be done now. They simply sat on the shoreline, watching the slow descent of the sun, eclipsed by the sinking Death Egg. The others watched in a sort of wonderment, while Rouge was analyzing every detail with a pair of expensive binoculars.

Shadow wasn't among them. Either he had slipped away when everyone was dazed upon first arriving here, or perhaps he had found a way to ensure that the chaos control sent him somewhere else.

The ship now completely vanished from the horizon. After a couple of minutes of inactivity, the skies brightened. Seven colored streams of light erupted from the ocean and flew off in every different direction. Silver sighed and hung his head low. Most of his sadness had left him for now, and he was just tired. This distant sight hadn't really impacted him yet, it seemed largely irrelevant in spite of what it indicated.

Silver, out of instinct, got up to leave and go about his own affairs, when Sonic put his arm on his shoulder in a chummy fashion.

"I've got some people for you to meet at home."

"I've already met them," Silver reminded him.

"Then I'm sure they'll be glad to see you again, even Chris and Cream"

"You don't have to do that."

"It's no trouble at all; it'll be easy, especially since some kind person left us a trail in the ground." Sonic winked at his reluctant friend.

The two hedgehogs left. They walked at an unusually slow pace and tried to share a conversation along the way.

Knuckles noticed that Rouge was still assessing the damage to the no-longer visible station.

"What, are you hoping that you'll go blind like a bat from staring at the sun all day?"

She huffed in mild annoyance. "Don't you think it's odd that we never saw a single evacuation pod while the ship was sinking? I placed a few spy-bugs in the control system. Even now, based on the system's current records, it seems no craft escaped from that mess. None above the water and none bellow. Everything's still in place exactly as it was when we arrived."

"And what's your point?"

"If the doc wanted to escape, he easily could have. He didn't, so what does that tell you?"

He paused for a moment. He began to see where her logic was heading. "What I want to know is: why are you telling me this?"

"I've got my reasons. You'll find out soon enough."

**-------------------------------------------**

Robotnik strode around his quarters like it was just another day, although the night was fast-approaching. He decided to see if there was any progress with his latest endeavor. When he came to check upon his pet project, the lights were turned off.

"You tried provoking him, didn't you?"

"Who's there? Is that you?" he asked, not sure where the voice was coming from.

"If you're talking about your buddy Mephiles, then no; it's just me."

"Oh, so you finally decided to say something?" Robotnik said, not amused. He turned on the lights.

The room was split into two halves, separated by a sheet of glass. Robotnik was currently standing in the dank, tiny and unkempt half. The other side resembled a hotel suite with red and gray décor. In spite of the differing environments, it seemed that Robotnik was staring into a mirror.

Plopped on the ground in an almost meditative pose was the usurped. He had a red and white striped jacket and black trousers. The resemblance between them was indeed uncanny.

"Well?" Eggman asked, referring to his previous question.

"So what if I did?" his descendant replied in a curiously poor, childlike repartee. "Your eyes must not have been on the real show. If you hadn't noticed, we're still here. Not even the combined assault of Iblis and Super Sonic could destroy the Death Egg."

"Yeah, that's why I thought of it."

"Be reasonable; I couldn't let you build it. You'd probably give it an Achilles' heel just for the fun of it. At any rate, the sealing system worked perfectly. Even after having two holes punched into it, this thing can still withstand the numerous atmospheres of pressure at the bottom of the sea."

In Eggman's cell, Bokkun drifted through the air like a drunken fly. Ever since their captivity, he had been trying to find a way out. Some hidden air duct or loose ceiling tile would do. He decided to take a break from this futile pursuit to make himself heard.

"Hey, you there! What'd you do with the id-, uh, what did you do with Decoe and Bocoe?"

"You know Bokkun, if you keep opening your big mouth you'll probably wind up wherever they are," Eggman cautioned in a passive-aggressive manner.

"Relax," Robotnik assured them. "You'll have them back…" He then added with irritation: "…once I manage to remove that cannon that you were somehow possessed to build inside of them."

"I'm not sure if you've heard, but I'm not the most cooperative of prisoners. If you're trying to butter me up by letting my robots keep me company, forget it, although that's not to say that I don't appreciate the effort."

"Oh no, I'm not trying to achieve anything through this. Your comfort isn't a means to an end. I'm simply giving you preferable living conditions because it suits my interests as well."

"And you say that I'm the softie," Eggman mused.

"Count yourselves lucky. The others won't be so fortunate."

Robotnik slipped off his red and white jacket, which he had taken from his ancestor's wardrobe. Underneath he had a nondescript red shirt. He then threw on a formal black jacket with tacky yellow cuffs and flaps. He didn't even bother to button the coat, which left a single square of underlying red visible through the opening. The big, turned-back flaps on the front of the jacket were two solid yellow triangles. His chest now had the appearance of a panther baring its fangs.

He wiped off as much of the orange dye as he could from his mustache, but decided to leave a little of it on. It made him look younger. He also figured he'd keep his pair of Eggman's pants and boots to complete his almost-all black ensemble.

"Like I said, today was only a test. Once the repairs are complete, I will enact my real plan."


	18. Ch 18: Obligations

**Author's Note: From now on I'll be updating the fic on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. I used to update it every other day, but on days like Tuesday and Thursday I would always get the chapters up later than on the other days (because my class schedule is different on those days).**

**I felt that a slight redesign was in order for Robotnik in order to make him more intimidating. Prior to chapter 17, with the exception of Chapter 3, Robotnik had been disguised as Eggman. Even his Chapter 3 outfit just made him look like a washed up scientist with a very eccentric fashion sense. His new design is similar to that one, but more polished and formal (it's not so much a lab coat as it is a business suit type of outfit) and with more black in the color scheme.**

**Eggman finally makes his present-day debut in my story. Eggman has been thrown in jail before, in the Sonic X series, but I decided to do a twist on the premise by having his cell be well-furnished and comfortable and have a more friendly environment, in spite of the lack of freedom (and also there's the fact that he's imprisoned inside of his own base). Many fanfics that have more than one Robotnik/Eggman tend not to have them both for very long (generally they just have Robotnik kill Eggman in order to prove his superiority, and like I've said I'm not into blatant character bashing). It's true that this Robotnik has the upper hand on Eggman, but you can chalk that up to the fact that Robotnik has more advanced technology as well as knowledge of what's going to happen in the future. I'd say that one of the main focuses of this "season" is developing the relationship between the two doctors. For once we get to see what Eggman is like when he gets the chance to talk with someone who's like himself in many respects, rather than just talking down to a bunch of pests who interfere in his plans.**

Eggman tried to keep the conversation rolling with his shadowy counterpart; Bokkun hadn't exactly been the most engaging company lately. "I'm guessing it's just us from here on out, right?"

"Hmm?"

"Don't play dumb; I've heard you two carry on your little discussions. Or rather, I should say that Bokkun heard you and told me. I knew I made the right choice when I gave him those big ears."

Bokkun didn't know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult.

"And what does that have to do with you and me?" Robotnik asked.

"Since Iblis has been taken care of, Mephiles can't become complete. Seeing as how your ghost pal no longer has a stake in this game, I imagine it's all you from here on out. I wonder how well you can perform without your little guardian angel."

"You have it backwards. The only help that I received was the information that I gathered on this time period. Of course, if it weren't for Iblis I would have found it on my own, but historical records tend not to keep well when they're buried under molten lead. Lately I've been going out of my way to help him, if only to avoid literally being haunted for the rest of my life. If anything, being alone now means that I can focus more on my own goals instead of having to make compromises."

"Ah, so that's what you meant when you said this would be your real plan. I'd commend you if you weren't being so naïve. If you let that spook get the better of you, then what's stopping him from marching in and making more demands?"

"There were no demands: it was mutual gain and a mutual agreement. Even if that hadn't been the case, Mephiles is a creature of dedication and persistence towards his ideals. He wouldn't take the time from his divine quest to quarrel with commoners like us, or at least that's how he tells it. Besides, I have ways of preparing for him."

"I'd hope so. I've learned from experience how these situations pan out. When things didn't go according to plan for the Metarex and my partnership with them soured, they seemed more than content to just cause as much destruction as they could."

"That's another thing. What happened today was not a failure by any stretch of the imagination, other than the fact that I didn't kill the hedgehog. This day, down to the last detail, is exactly what Mephiles expected and wanted to happen."

**-----------------------------------**

Sonic met up with Chris and Cream on his way back to the rabbit's homestead. Even though almost everyone in this area had their own house to live in, Vanilla's residence had become a sort of hub. After all, it did have most of the trappings of a traditional home and family.

Along the way everyone had to stop for a rest. Sonic used this as a pretext to tell Chris what had happened while Silver wasn't noticing. In a way this felt like a betrayal of the fledgling hedgehog's trust, but Sonic figured it'd be more awkward and mortifying if Silver himself had to fill the inevitable queries of "So where'd your lady friend run off to?"

Once they arrived at the house, Sonic took some time to show the grayscale boy around while Chris explained the situation to the others in non-specific terms. Everyone would have wanted to know eventually, so it was best that they at least knew not to ask about it. Sonic wasn't the most open person, but he could understand when other people didn't want to talk about their problems.

Everyone was sprawled about the living room, waiting for their hero to return. After the two hedgehogs had arrived, the usual greetings were exchanged. Once the kids had caught up with the stories of the Blue Blur's travels over the past months, attention was finally lavished on his quiet companion. Concerns started to pop up about where this chrome-colored newcomer was going to stay.

Vector took this as the chance to make his move. He cleared his throat to catch everyone's attention. "It's come to our attention that this place has gotten a little crowded. We don't want to overstay our welcome, so we'll just find a new place to stay."

Charmy blurted out: "So Tails, can we stay at your place?"

Vector jabbed the obnoxious insect. "Shh, I wasn't going to ask that yet!" he whispered aloud.

"And when were you going to tell me about this?" Espio added.

Tails, who was sitting on the stairs, half-swaddled in a blanket, replied with a hint of amusement: "That would be fine. Just try not to blow the place up."

Everyone chuckled at the expense of the Chaotix.

"Let me know if you need help getting settled," Vanilla added playfully.

Vector's face was turning red.

While everyone was distracted, Amy pulled Sonic aside into the next room.

"So, tell me what happened," she prodded as if asking for the latest gossip. "Did you deal with our egg problem?"

"Let's just say that his ship is sunk."

Amy simply nodded, already drifting out of the conversation. She grabbed his hands and started to direct him into a waltz.

"How about you talk to Tails tomorrow…," Amy murmured, resting her head on Sonic's shoulder as they danced.

**----------------------------------**

Visitation period was over. It was time to get down to business. Unfortunately, that would have to wait a little longer yet.

Robotnik was startled by his guest's unexpected appearance as soon as he left Eggman's cell.

"The terms of our agreement are almost fulfilled. You've held up your end with an almost startling punctuality," it said with dearth, resembling a clammy gale in its tone and presence.

"We should discuss this elsewhere; they can still hear us."

"I'm aware of that."

"Have it your way then," Robotnik shrugged. "Since your obligations are still open-ended, you could at least fill me in on a few things. I'm assuming that the awakening of Iblis was meant to coincide with the emergence of Dark Super Sonic. And this is because…?"

"The previous instance in which this transformation occurred was a mulligan, due to the fact that artificial emeralds were used to bring it about, rather than the genuine article."

"So I'm assuming this has something to do with the emeralds' negative energies. At any rate, why did it have to be him?" Robotnik added with persistence.

"It could have been anyone, but he was the first to meet the qualifications. Shadow was a backup candidate, which is why I had you retrieve him. And it wasn't negative energies or any other malignant aspect that allowed him to release Iblis, but that matter is strictly between him and me."

"Well then, if you're going to waste time by being cryptic we may as well move on to the next issue at hand: it's obvious that Blaze was the first person that you wanted me to send back in time, but who was the other one? Was it Silver or Thorndyke?"

"It was neither. I sent a liaison on my behalf, unbeknownst to you. This was the second of the two that I requested. Prior to now, I was physically incapable of securing any historical records myself, and I knew that simply paraphrasing history's events wouldn't satisfy an individual as meticulous as you. I instructed my agent in how to operate your machine after you had used it yourself. This was the method of ensuring that you obtained the proper historical information before you began your endeavors in this world. As we speak, this individual is tracking down the locations of the seven recently-scattered chaos emeralds. This information will be relayed to you shortly, as per my instructions."

"Fascinating," the doctor droned dismissingly, "but who is this agent?"

"I'm true to my word, but my discretion has its limits. You will find out in time."

"You seem to have a habit of never answering me directly, Mephiles."

"I simply have a tendency to over-explain irrelevant matters while overlooking the broader meaning," it replied with a trace of amusement. "It's a habit that I have… acquired."


	19. Ch 19: Denial

**Author's Note: Mephiles finally makes his official debut. The Robotnik segments in the last chapter served to answer some of the questions left by the events of the first "season," as well as raising a few others for this one. There were some things that I didn't get around to answering fully because those explanations are best saved for later (namely how Sonic released Iblis). We also hear the first mention of the Liaison, someone who's working under Mephiles' orders, but rest assured that this will not be the last mention.**

**To some degree I skimped on the scenes involving everybody else getting "caught up to speed" because it would've involved repeating information that we already know. One problem that most anime has is that it tends overload the plot with unnecessary or redundant exposition, and Sonic X was no exception. Now, every plot requires some amount of exposition, so I decided to keep it in-character by typically having the analytical and intellectual characters (aka Eggman, Robotnik and Mephiles) recite exposition. Whenever there's exposition amongst the other characters, I tend to just gloss over it so that the story isn't too bogged down with it and so that they aren't out of character by just reciting speeches to explain the plot. In a way it suits Mephiles and Robotnik because they're outside observers who view recent events as a sort of plot to analyze.**

The Chaotix was plodding down the beaten trail, carrying boxes with their various knickknacks inside.

"I don't get it Vector, I thought you wanted to stay with Vanilla."

"Charmy, Charmy… it's not about what we want, it's about what's best for her and the others. It doesn't stop here, either. Once we get settled we'll clean that place from shingle to sewage pipe so that ol' fox-boy has something nice to return to," Vector declared solemnly. "Besides, when Vanilla gets a load of how selfless we're being, she'll be so impressed!" he gushed.

"When she's half a mile away," Espio finished.

"Oh right, I forgot that part."

While Charmy was hassling Vector for his lapse in memory, Espio eyed a familiar blur racing across the horizon.

_So he's heading there, too._

**-----------------------------------**

Sonic had gotten up early that morning. He wasn't intending to shirk his responsibilities this time, but it wouldn't hurt if he had a little preparation. The workshop was locked, so he simply ran up to one of the hangar windows that Tails left open to air the place out. The Blue Typhoon, still in a state of disrepair, was stored in the back of the main hanger with little thought. It was practically propped up against the unfathomably massive wall.

Rather than risk setting off some sort of alarm by using one of the sealed doors, Sonic entered the ship through one of the many holes that had been carved into it throughout the Metarex campaign. He searched through the sets of drawers that were scattered across the ship's various rooms, but there was nothing of interest. In many ways he was relieved that his search had been fruitless, but then he remembered that the security logs from that day may be somewhere else in the workshop. He cursed himself for remembering.

As he looked around, Sonic noticed that a lot of Tails' inventions had gone into a state of disrepair and seemed to be thoughtlessly scattered throughout the compound. After craftily dodging the various sensors throughout the shop, Sonic made his way to the office. The thought never crossed his mind before, but it seemed utterly absurd to him now that such a young boy had his own office, let alone a workshop, a once-functioning space station and dozens of other gadgets to boot.

He sorted through a shelf of labeled discs when he could hear someone approaching behind him.

"Oh, hey guys. Movin' in already?" he was quick to ask as he turned.

"Yep," Vector replied, "but since when were you?"

"Oh no, no, no. You know me, I'm not the type to stay in one place. I was just looking for something."

"Well why didn't you say so? Let's lend him a hand, boys. What did you have in mind?"

"Uh, I was looking for movies… of our time in space."

Espio gave Sonic a glare out of the corner of his eye. Vector became befuddled for a moment.

"Well, Sonic…"

"Found one!" Charmy declared. In that short period of time, Charmy had already strewn the discs all over the floor, save for the one that he was holding. Vector gave him a disapproving growl.

"That works," Sonic chuckled. "Now, do you know a place where I could watch it?"

Espio didn't like where this was going.

Charmy proudly held the disc, but Vector snatched it from his hand and struck an even more triumphant pose. "Let's find the computer room!" he rallied.

The computer itself was, of course, too secure for the detectives to crack. Instead they settled for an entertainment player.

"You're lucky we came along when we did, Sonic. Tails isn't the only one smart enough to say that he's piloted a spaceship. I have a way with machines, too," Vector boasted.

"But not money," Charmy reminded him.

The four started watching footage taken from a camera in the main area of the workshop. It depicted Tails hard at work at some device that was too early-along to be identified. After a few moments of watching the boy work monotonously at his contraption, Charmy picked up on everyone's inner thoughts and went for the fast forward button. After what looked like a hyperactive eternity of labor, Tails finally took a reprieve.

The blurry, colorless boy did a few stretches, made some last-minute checks with his ongoing project and laid down on the (presumably) cold shop floor.

Everyone else was muted, until Vector clarified softly "must've been a busy day…"

Charmy sped through the footage at a blinding pace, and a distinct rhythm had become apparent. A massive metallic cylinder was assembled at the pace of a simple children's puzzle, while its creator flitted around its perimeter, only to briefly rest on the floor, night after night. Only once in a great while would he actually leave the room.

When the invention looked like it was nearing completion, the construction suddenly went in reverse. Now the device's progress was moving backwards onscreen.

"Charmy, stop messin' with the buttons! It's already going to take forever to get to the part where we're in space without you putting the film in reverse."

"But I'm not doing anything… that's weird."

The scatterbrained bee then rewound the tape, trying to find the exact occurrence of this error.

Tails stood before the completed device. Now it looked familiar: it was the Sonic Driver, the same cannon that was once attached to the Blue Typhoon. He held up a personal voice recorder.

"I'm finally done with the new driver. Hmm… wait, I forgot to give it a fresh coat of paint to match the ship."

Charmy once again sped through the fox's finishing touches.

When the film resumed at a normal pace, Tails picked up a decorative watering can and sprinkled a few droplets into a nearby flower pot with the greatest of care. He held up some intelligible slip of paper to the plant.

"You're still not as green as you should be… I'm sorry; I'll give you a little more from now on, ok? Sorry, again."

Once that was done, Tails tried to record his message again. "The Driver's done and painted. This new design sports more efficient energy conversion and greater power, but at the expense of startup time. Let's see, the Turbo Tank and the Magnet Plane are both complete. I just finished this, of course, so all that's left is to repair the rest of the ship. Once that's done, maybe I could see where Sonic ran off to and…" he trailed off as he looked back at the plant.

Suddenly a change came about him. His twin tails, which were wagging in excitement before, had now curled up and tried to withdraw themselves. Even in the low quality video, he was noticeably trembling and his breath was wavering.

"On second thought," he was quick to add, "I don't think it'd be best if the new Driver had such a long startup time. It's an emergency weapon, after all, and time can't be wasted in an emergency. I think I'll make a few adjustments, and while I'm at it I'll waterproof the interior, just in case if we're underwater and there winds up being a hole in the shell. We wouldn't want water to damage the mechanisms, right? Yeah, that'd be best."

He ran up to the Driver.

"Oh and look, covered with paint. Ugh, how could I be so sloppy like that? I should've given it a day to check for anything that I wanted to change before painting it."

He scrambled to a nearby toolbox, fetched his electric sander and began to scrape away the fresh paint.

"Wait, I was thinking of a new filament for the ship's armor plating, I should use that for the cannon, too. It only makes sense."

He threw the sander aside and got out the drill bit. After removing a segment of the cannon's shell, he placed it on the ground, only to gasp and immediately pick it back up again.

"Stupid, stupid, I can't just put a painted piece of metal aside as scrap. What if I needed a piece of scrap metal for an emergency, and all that I had was this painted piece and I didn't have time to remove the paint then?"

He picked up the sander again and began again frantically: "Ok, first I get rid of the paint, then I remove the armor, then I make the adjustments and waterproofing, then I put on the new armor and paint that; ok."

Unable to stand the sight of this, Charmy fast-forwarded once again, hoping to skip past the "bad part." What had happened with the tape before now made sense, as the once-impeccably assembled Sonic Driver was now being dismantled throughout the days. They thought that this footage was from before their trip into space, but clearly it was after. Charmy resumed at an arbitrary spot, not knowing why he hadn't simply stopped the video.

Tails was rebuilding the Driver from scratch, with parts strewn all around the floor. Suddenly a voice caught his attention.

"Tails, are you in there?"

"Yeah, I'm a little busy at the moment."

Amy walked in.

"You're starting another one? You promised me that you'd stop after that last plane."

"This isn't a new plane, it's a new Driver. Well, it's the second new Driver, actually. I messed up the last one, sorry."

"Why are you bothering with that? It doesn't do any good if Sonic isn't around to use it. I thought you were going to help us look for him."

"I will, once I finish this and get the Blue Typhoon working again."

"No, you're not going waste time with a ship that we'll never need again. At least spend the day with Cream and me"

"I already did last week, just let me finish this."

"You can't spend all your time being alone in this place."

"Just let me finish this."

"This isn't helping, Tails. You need to get out there and talk about these things."

"Just let me finish this."

"Now."

"Just let me finish-"

Amy picked him up and dragged him out of the shop. He quickly eyed the unfinished driver, and then turned his gaze to the potted plant as he was being taken away.

"Please, I'm almost done. It's a day's work at the most, I'll have it done. This one will be much better. I won't let you down this time, I promise…"


	20. Ch 20: The Ill Humanitarian

**Author's Note: And finally the Chaotix have a role in the story, even though they mostly serve as emotional support and comic relief, rather than fighting protagonists in my story. And yes, I did reference Vector's "computer room" line from Shadow the hedgehog. Continuing from the first season of the story, Sonic's devotion to his friends has been called into question when it's apparent that he's willing and able to save them from physical harm, but perhaps not necessarily emotional harm. We haven't heard much from Tails in a while, so I felt it was important to provide a flashback of when he was at his worst. Tails is nothing short of a savant, and his vast array of technological handiwork implies that he's a workaholic, so I was interested to see how that would intertwine with his grief, rather than just writing his mourning off as a typical fanfic-esque "cries himself to sleep at night while dreaming of what he lost" sort of grief (yeah, I know that was a mouthful). As I'll explain later, Tails' depression moves in phases, with this earlier phase being the denial phase where he focuses on irrelevant matters.**

"We should step back inside. I want to make sure that both of you are here to hear this."

"Showing up a few minutes earlier would have sufficed."

Eggman stood up in attention at the sight of the two of them as they entered the room.

"So finally we meet, I've heard so much from you."

Mephiles didn't respond.

"Well?" Robotnik asked impatiently.

"He's supposed to begin," Mephiles said at last. Robotnik stayed out of the conversation as his two collaborators got to know each other.

"If you insist," Eggman aptly started. "What puzzles me in all of this is what you hope to accomplish with this plan of yours. By orchestrating the destruction of Iblis, aren't you simply denying yourself of any possible chance to reunite with him?"

"So it would seem in mortal terms. Iblis isn't so much a living creature as it is a vast reserve of energy. 'Killing' it is simply releasing the energy to anyone who's willing or able to accept it: I'm the only one who meets those qualifications. Now, in order to achieve this end I needed someone with the potential to unlock this energy, and I needed the chaos emeralds to unlock that potential, otherwise that someone, Blaze, wouldn't have been strong enough to do it on her own. I needed the emeralds to serve as a key to the key, essentially. In the natural course of history, these two things never existed at the same time. Only someone who can control the soul's flames could unlock the power, and nobody with that ability was born until after the eight emeralds were devoured by Iblis."

"Eight?"

"Seven chaos emeralds, as well as the master emerald, which could have been used to recall them if it hadn't been taken as well. It seemed that the intended passage of history made my goal impossible from the start."

"I get your point: it's called bad luck. We 'mortals' tend to run into it a lot."

"'Luck'? How quaint. In the end, I folded the fabric of time onto itself so that I could obtain my goal. Two ingredients that were once separated by time were brought together. While the key was here, I watched over her efforts. She assumed that my intent was to keep Iblis alive, just as you did, and to her my near-constant presence must have indicated that I was fearful of her efforts. This couldn't be farther from the truth; I watched her in anticipation, not dread. So in the end, by contradicting me she was really carrying out my will."

"I see, so it was reverse psychology. Make people think that you wanted Iblis to survive, which would make them try to kill it. Still, if you currently possess Iblis' power then surely you must have better things to do than explain yourself to us."

"The process isn't so expedient. For now I remain weak, but with time more and more of that power will transfer to me. I have no reason to act when I'm not fully prepared."

"I think it would be best not to wait; Sonic and the others won't show that kind of patience when they find out that you manipulated them like this. I can tell you right now that they certainly wouldn't give me that luxury if I were in your shoes."

"They have some right to feel anger, assuming they ever discover the true circumstances of the situation." It then turned to Robotnik. "You're free to do with them whatever you will, for the time being." Mephiles then addressed both of the gifted madmen: "As to why I'm 'explaining myself' to you two, it's to serve as a warning: when you each see me next, I will not be so willing to turn a blind eye." The being then abruptly phased through the floor without leaving a trace.

**------------------------------------------**

Things had been quiet at the workshop since Sonic felt it was time to leave. The Chaotix members didn't blame him. As hard as Charmy had looked, in spite of being told not to, he was unable to find any footage from their time in space: it seemed that those records in particular had been singled out and removed from the bunch. Not a word was spoken after Sonic left, until the doorbell rang. Vector answered it.

"Oh, hey Knuckles. What brings you-"

"Is Tails here?"

"Er, no. He's not feeling well right now."

"Well where is he? I need to ask him something."

"Oh, you don't want to do that. He's… sick, yeah. Terribly contagious, I'm afraid."

Espio gave Vector a cockeyed look from inside the house.

"But you can ask us, old buddy," Vector assured him.

"Fine. I'm looking for something that he might still have around here. I'm just going to take a look around."

**---------------------------------------------**

When Sonic arrived at the rabbit household, he was met with Tails, Amy, Cream, Chris and Silver sitting at the kitchen table, all staring back at him. He grew a little anxious until Chris began:

"You're just in time. Have a seat; I'm sure you want to hear this, too."

He was a little relieved that this wasn't about him specifically, but he still couldn't guess what this was actually about.

"You probably haven't heard," Chris continued, "but that man who captured us the other day was _not_ Doctor Eggman."

"It sure looked that way from where I was standing," Sonic objected.

"The man that you encountered has a lot in common with Eggman," Chris explained, "but they're two different people. Wasn't anyone else a little surprised that how far he was willing to go this time? When I was here last, it seemed like Eggman had grown less ruthless with time, if anything."

"So how do you know that it wasn't Eggman?," Amy asked.

"Because this doctor is from the future. He calls himself Robotnik and he's the one who sent me back. After we left, he must have come back here himself."

"Robotnik? Isn't that what Eggman used to call himself?"

"Yeah," Sonic affirmed, "but I prefer Eggman, and apparently so does he."

"They look alike, too," Chris continued, "but Robotnik told me that it's because he's related to Eggman."

"I know him," Silver interjected, "he looked after me and Blaze, but he was more dedicated to his work. He did a lot of great things in life, but… it's hard to explain. He was polite, to us at least, but he seemed distant and uncaring in some ways. He never really talked much about himself, but then again none of us did so we didn't mind."

"That still doesn't explain why he would do something like this," Amy added with dissatisfaction. "He was the one who burned down the forest, right?"

"Yes"

"So it wasn't Eggman…," Tails murmured.

"There was one thing…," Silver began. "There was one thing that Blaze told me about him that I didn't already know. I know you won't understand if I tell you this right now, but I'm hoping that if I explain a few things first that it will begin to make sense. He was the man responsible for evacuating his world when Iblis attacked. By the time I was born, Iblis had already left my world. Even so, the aftermath of Iblis' presence made many lives miserable. I once tried to learn what it was like for those who survived 'The Flames of Disaster,' as we called them. What little I learned, I wish I hadn't. After he had to live through that, I can't imagine him having anything resembling a normal life."

The group was quiet for a while.

"Even so…," Sonic began.

"Wait, there's more," Silver interrupted. "Blaze told me what he once told her. He said that when he was working on the evacuation effort, every setback and failure he encountered made him feel like he was the one who was destroying the world. Every person that he was too late to save was, to him, someone he had killed with his own hands. From that day forward, his work became his only major focus in life. I'm not trying to excuse what he's done; I'm trying to warn you. I don't know why he's after you, Sonic, but to him you're his 'work,' and he won't stop until you're finished."


	21. Ch 21: Refutation

**Author's Note: So, yeah, for once we see the furry characters deliver their own exposition. Mephiles could only pop into this part of the story for a short time because, like I said in an earlier author's note, I'm trying to keep up his mystique by not over-exposing him at this point. I don't really have much else to say about that last chapter. **

"Sorry we couldn't help ya, Knux ol' pal. But I know someone who can hook you up with what you're looking for. Just go the old saloon near the coast and tell the girl in front that I sent ya. She owes me a favor, that one."

"Fine, but this better not be some trick."

"Oh, if we were trying to trick you all we'd have to do is wear orange mustaches," Charmy teased.

Knuckles growled at the buzzing twerp.

"All in good fun, right? Right?" Vector quickly added.

Knuckles left without a word.

"If you have someone who owes you a favor, then why didn't you call it in when we were about to lose our house?" Espio demanded.

"Well maybe if you reminded me of these things sooner we wouldn't get in these situations, did you ever think of it that way?"

Espio sighed.

**-------------------------------------------**

Ordinarily Sonic wasn't the type to make these sorts of connections, but in a rare moment of clarity his synapses synchronized and a profound thought entered his head. This "Dr. Robotnik" had lived through a traumatic experience, became overly invested in his work and wound up emotionally scarred and mentally unstable. Tails' experience had certainly traumatized him, he too had become tangled up in project after project, and… Sonic shuttered to think of the rest. He knew all along that he had to talk to the boy, but only now had he realized just what was at stake. His uncertainty on how to approach the situation had made him hesitant in doing so, but now he knew that this couldn't wait any longer. Sonic was never reluctant when it came to his duties, and now was certainly not the time to start.

As Sonic had found out, it took a lot of effort on Amy's part to break Tails out of his workaholic attitude. Sonic knew that there was no way he could ever repay her for the progress she had made with Tails over the past few months. After abandoning his obsessive projects, Tails' problem had only metastasized into a sort of polite silence. He was out and about, but he dodged the issue just as vigorously as he had before. When she began to crack this facade, the volatile feelings bottled up inside of him began to trickle out in tearful outbursts. Now, ever since his encouraged relocation, Tails had undergone yet another change in his demeanor.

In this phase he had regressed to a more helpless and childish state. He had a soft-spoken whimsy towards important matters that didn't directly concern him. Oftentimes Charmy would relay questions that the Chaotix had about the house, but Tails would simply brush them aside and hope that they'd forget to ask again. Instead he focused on inconsequential motifs that were in his immediate surroundings. Like someone drained from illness, most of his interactions only consisted of asking for a glass of water or for someone to shut the window. He was too tired to think about other peoples' problems and almost too tired to beat himself up for not caring.

The guest bed had become his crib, his cocoon and his shell. Only two things made him emerge from his haven: the needs of his digestive system and the plant. He had considered letting someone else take care of the latter, but no matter how meticulous and obvious he made his instructions, he felt a constant terror in the back of his mind. _What if I wasn't clear enough? What if they forget?_

His thoughts rarely took the form of distinguishable words anymore. His analytical nature had deserted him. He simply stared at nothing until his eyes would start to water. He would close them, curl up and wrap his tails around himself. He'd pull the covers in tighter and drape them over his head. He tried to compress himself into the smallest shape that he could. He was hoping that the world would simply pass by without noticing him.

He threw the covers off and started to straighten himself up when he heard someone approaching.

"Can I come in?" Sonic asked politely.

"Sure." Tails didn't look at him. This was starting to become his kneejerk reaction to any visitors that he had.

Sonic sat at the edge of the bed next to his little buddy.

"How you holdin' up, big guy?"

"Fine," Tails muttered.

Bad question, Sonic scolded himself.

"You know, I'm gonna be spending more time around here. I'd really like to spend more of it with you."

"Ok."

"We could go for a hike, see what's new in town; maybe test out one of your new planes. Anything you want, pal."

"I guess. I should see what Chris and Silver have planned."

"Oh it won't hurt to let them sit out for a few rounds. After all, I only have one lil' bro," Sonic smiled.

Tails almost returned the expression, but suddenly became downtrodden. "I'm sorry, Sonic."

"For what?"

"I let him get away. I shouldn't have let my feelings get in the way, especially since he was so dangerous. You wouldn't have had to risk your life finding Chris and Cream if I hadn't let him go."

"You want to know a secret? I let him go too. I think Silver was exaggerating. This guy is just all talk. I can tell you that he wasn't so quick to say those things when I was standing right in front of him."

"Really?"

"Yeah, and whatever brains that Eggman has, this guy doesn't. He practically handed the chaos emeralds over. When he got a load of me, the emeralds weren't the only thing he lost."

Tails chuckled a little.

"Ha, you see? He's no worse than the other egghead. He made this big elaborate flying base, and it sunk in the ocean before it even managed to take off! This guy's got worse luck with water than I do. Someone like that couldn't possibly know what he's talking about. He'll just say whatever he thinks will get him out of a situation."

Tails was still reluctant to agree with this sentiment.

"I know he said some pretty terrible things. He said them to everyone he came across. His words don't mean anything; he practically told me so himself."

Now Tails was starting to think that Sonic was just making things up.

Sonic brought his impromptu bashing down a notch. "Look, don't let creeps like him get to you. He doesn't know anything about you, or me, or anybody. He may have history holograms or whatever it is that they use in the future, but that's no substitute for being there." He hesitated, feeling like a hypocrite. He amended this in a more somber tone: "I know I wasn't there, either… but what happened was just between you and Cosmo. Nobody can tell you how you were supposed to feel or act. And if anyone says otherwise, they can answer to me first."

Maybe this isn't what Tails had hoped for in consolation, but it was certainly more than what he had expected or felt that he deserved.

"Thanks, Sonic."

Sonic patted him on the back. "Why don't you get some shut eye and we'll go do something later."

"You know, I think I've been in bed long enough today."

Tails stumbled out of bed and followed his brother downstairs.


	22. Ch 22: Suspicions

**Author's Note: The previous chapter was difficult for me to write, and I actually put it off for quite a while. I was trying to write a consolation chapter that wasn't very clear cut. I didn't want Sonic to come off as some perceptive expert who knew exactly what to say to help Tails feel better, but I also didn't want him to sound like an indifferent jerk, either. Basically, he had to man up from the lack of effort that he put in episode 78 of Sonic X, but he also couldn't handle the issue in the same way that Amy did in previous chapters. I tried to make his words have more of a "teenage guy" tone to them, if I didn't make that apparent enough. He played to his strengths, basically, which include his ability to taunt people (which he directed towards Robotnik). Keep in mind that Tails' issues are still ongoing and that the previous chapter wasn't some wrapped-up ending to the whole thing. **

As Knuckles made his way through the sparsely-populated fish markets, he remembered one of his old sayings: "There's plenty of room on this planet for everyone." Even in the densest epicenter of trade and business in this neck of the woods, there were only a handful of people and houses visible.

Behind the front desk in the saloon that Vector mentioned was an orange-and-brown striped raccoon child. Her eyes were buried in the pages of a fisherman's periodical and her plump tail waved to and fro in captivation.

"Are you Marine?"

"Who wants to know?"

"Vector sent me."

She took one glance at him and leapt back in fright. She grabbed the wrong end of a pool cue and held it like a club.

"Oh I see, the ol' croc got impatient and now 'e's sending one of his goons to muscle the money out of me? Right-o, take your best shot!"

"I don't care about money, and I'm not his 'goon,' alright?" Knuckles already grew annoyed, "And another thing-wait, why am I talking to you? You don't own this place, it's not like I'd be taking _your_… forget it, I'm just here to borrow something."

"It's not like you'd be taking my what, my money? I own halfa' this place, for your information. My pop and I are the only ones who work here; I do half the work, which means that I own half."

"Alright, fine, whatever."

"So what do you want, then?"

"I heard that you have a submarine."

"Of course, why else do you think I'm named Marine? People around here are given names for a reason, you know."

Knuckles glanced down at his massive hands and the talons that protruded from them. "I see your point."

**-----------------------------------**

Eggman once again awoke to the sight of his luxurious prison cell. Something new caught his eye. On the floor, next to the hibernating Bokkun, were two simple robots presented in a pristine, fresh-off-the-assembly manner. It was them: Decoe and Bocoe.

Eggman's first instinct was to jump out of bed, but he didn't want to look too happy to see them. It was possible that Bokkun might wake up and see him, but more likely there were other eyes watching him right now and he didn't want anyone catching on to his eagerness. He methodically strode towards the shutdown workers.

He double-checked to see if Robotnik made good on his word: he did, the cannon components had all been removed. He closed the maintenance hatches on their bodies and without further delay activated them. He figured he'd look later to see if there were any parts that he could fashion into an escape tool.

"Don't come any closer!" Bocoe yelled as he snapped into a terrified pose. "Oh, it's you, Dr. Eggman."

Decoe simply sat still the whole time. "Hmm, Bocoe had a flashback and I didn't. Does that mean you designed us differently, Doctor?"

"What, haven't you two looked at each other in a mirror?" Eggman said, already beginning to lose his patience.

Bocoe stood up, but fell over as soon as he tried. "Hmm, I seem to have a new center of gravity. I guess this is what it feels like to lose weight," he mused in his effeminate fashion.

"And yet you look just as big as before. Who would have thought that we'd be the ones to lose weight before the doctor?" Decoe chirped in his whiney voice.

"Will you two shut up!" Eggman hollered. "Do you remember anything since you were captured?"

"Sorry Doctor, but no."  
"I don't, either."

Eggman slammed his fist in frustration. "I was hoping otherwise. You see, Bokkun and I can't find a way out of this room. There are no doors or vents. The walls, floor and ceiling are all connected with no seams. Even the glass wall appears to be made of the same material as the floors and walls; I can't tell where one begins and the other ends. They must have gotten you in here somehow, if one of us had just seen how they did it…" Eggman stared angrily at the still-sleeping Bokkun. He tapped him a few times with his toe until he stirred.

"Huh…Wha?"

"From now on we all sleep in shifts. Maybe if you weren't so punctual about recharging your batteries, Bokkun, you could have stayed awake long enough to see how they got Decoe and Bocoe in here."

Bokkun was about to enter one of his typical crying tantrums, but Decoe was quick to come to his defense for once.

"You know, I can't help but wonder if the blame rests with us for making mistakes, or if the blame rests with Dr. Eggman for programming us that way."

"Hey, yeah," Bokkun wondered as his fit seemed to be averted.

"Now don't start getting into that again," Eggman said drolly. "What is it with talking robots and philosophical conundrums? Now I know why I made all of my other creations just shut up and obey. If we're going to make it out of this, we'll have to work together. What do you say? And I'll tell you right now that the next words out of your mouths better be an answer that I like."

"I suppose we don't have a choice," Bocoe assessed.

**-----------------------------------------------**

"It's a beaut, innit?"

"It is what it is, I guess."

"Well, the controls are really simple. All you need to know is the navigation."

Knuckles pointed at his forehead. "I've got all the navigation that I need."

"Fine, it's your funeral. If you don't sink it, make sure to bring it back or next time I'm going to sic the croc on you!" She tossed him the key to the ignition and scampered back inside.

After a little fuddling with the mechanisms, he managed to get the sub working. He let his instincts and his bond with the blessed gem guide him. He wasn't going to stand back and let it sit at the bottom of the ocean. Granted, it would be much harder for someone to steal the emerald down there, but surely he isn't the only one who's capable of reaching it right now. Besides, the emerald doesn't do much good without an island to keep afloat.

Tails had manufactured a few subs in his heyday, but they had all either been dismantled or left in a state of disrepair. Knuckles just hoped that this raccoon girl, or whoever it was that made this thing, knew their stuff.

Perhaps a more open mind would have wondered greatly at the majesty of the deep, or contemplated philosophically about the quiet joy of solitude, but as usual Knuckles kept his own thoughts a little too focused and narrow: I've gotta find the Master Emerald. I wish all of this stupid water wasn't in the way.

Along his voyage he could've sworn that he saw someone outside of the sub. All that he managed to catch sight of was a silhouette that looked vaguely mobian, but vanished as soon as he tried to flash the sub's lights on it.

After some time he had arrived at the sight of where the Death Egg had sunk, but its remains were nowhere to be found. Instead, his senses led him to a massive underwater tunnel. Suddenly he heard a noise. He listened carefully, only to realize that it wasn't coming from outside. What could it be? Everything seemed to be working, but then he realized something in the crew compartment was amiss.

When he got onboard, there was an equipment locker that he couldn't open. He figured there was nothing important inside, so he just left it alone. Well, now it was open. When he stepped forward to look inside, he started to hear labored breathing. He tried to pinpoint it, but he felt someone's hand reach out at him from behind.


	23. Ch 23: Tension

**Author's Note: Well, that was Marine's first and probably only appearance in this story. I could've easily just had Knuckles borrow one of Tails' old subs, but I figured this would be the best time to give Marine a cameo. I don't think it really qualifies as character bashing to leave her out of the rest of this story because she never had a very big presence in the games and she doesn't have much of a fan-base; besides, the cast is pretty cluttered as it is. By the way, "innit" is British slang for "isn't it?" I know that Marine is supposed to have an Australian accent, but when you think about it I don't really have to be too consistent about it because there's no Australia in Sonic's world anyway.**

**Knuckles is one of those characters that hasn't gotten much attention in my story so far. Sonic and company are taking it easy while they think Robotnik is defeated, so I needed someone to go on some sort of adventure in the meantime. **

"What are you doing here?!," Knuckles demanded.

"Hitching a ride, as they say," her repartee wasn't quite up to par: she was still groggy.

"Don't tell me you were the one outside the sub just a few minutes ago."

"You're not serious, are you? There's nobody down here besides us, and I hid in the locker, if that wasn't obvious enough."

"Right, and I suppose you stowed away for hours just so you could join me for a stroll along the ocean floor? Good, because that's where I'm thinking of leaving you!"

"Well, if I came out of that locker earlier you probably would have turned the sub around."

"That's not the point!"

"Think before you talk. If it weren't for me you wouldn't even have come up with this idea in the first place."

"Oh, so now you've stooped to stealing credit for other peoples' ideas? Why don't you just go back to whatever cave it is that you crawl out of every morning?"

"Please. Why else do you think I made it painstakingly clear to you that the Death Egg sunk without evacuating? Even you would figure out that the Emerald must still be aboard if there was no one to carry it out."

"That still doesn't explain why you're here."

"It seems I've worked up something of a bad reputation around these parts, so when I try to rent something, people somehow have this notion that I won't give it back."

"Because you steal."

"I would have taken the key, but I swear it's like that raccoon girl never sleeps. Besides, it's better to share the sub when it means having my own personal emerald detector," she said as she tapped Knuckles on the noggin.

"I'm not helping you steal the emerald."

"It's not going to be easy. If that new doctor's got half a brain in his head, the Death Egg will still be heavily fortified. We'll be lucky if just one of us gets out alive. Think of it this way: at least we probably won't have to fight over who gets to keep it in the end."

"I'm still not… wait, 'new doctor'?"

"You really should check in with your friends more. I did some eavesdropping while you visited the three stooges and boy have I got a story to tell you."

**------------------------------------**

Eggman and his underlings pretended to be doing nothing of particular importance when their overbearing caretaker came in to check up on them. This time he entered the chamber with a retinue of sentries. Their outer casings were a mixture of gun metal and a sickly blue. Their heads were steel domes with a red visor in front; their bodies were more human and robust in proportion than Eggman's minions. The dusky storm troopers readied their weapons as Robotnik entered a sequence into a handheld remote.

Suddenly the translucent panel that separated them parted in the middle and was stretched open to form a man-sized portal. The foot soldiers poured in and restrained each of the captives.

"I realize that you're having doubts about my style of management. I just want you to know that your enterprise is in good hands. I figured I'd take a page from your book today. You've made quite an art of stroking your ego while unveiling your latest inventions, so I figured I'd try my hand at it."

"Is this some kind of punishment?" Eggman inquired glumly.

"More like peer review, actually. I suppose I'll bring the little ones along," Robotnik said as he eyed Decoe, Bocoe and Bokkun. "There's no sense in showing you something if you don't have anyone to talk about it with afterwards."

Eggman gave a reassuring glance to his three diminutive compatriots before they could voice any objections. The huddled group took a stroll through the compound.

"I feel like I owe this to you as a form of compensation, as ridiculous as that sounds. You see, during the course of my plan's fruition I've damaged one of your prized creations. Of course, several were damaged due to the actions of those furry interlopers, but this one in particular was mangled solely because of my own actions."

"Get to the point."

"I've remade and upgraded this particular invention of yours. This isn't a mere act of good will, but rather I'm trying to prove to you that my mastery of technology is more than enough to complete this task that you have failed time after time. Basically, I'm trying to prove that I'm better than you, just as you try to prove to everyone else."

Eggman chuckled. "If you got this idea from me, then you should realize that it's much easier to talk about superiority than it is to prove it."

"Then let's begin, and then we can see just how easy it is." Robotnik entered another sequence and a nearby wall neatly folded away, revealing a targeting range with a single occupant.

"After my forced migration to Mobius after the flames of disaster, I found this very machine abandoned in one of your decaying stockpiles. It held up remarkably well to the test of time. So much so, in fact, that it was still operational when I discovered it. It served me well as a companion in my experiments, although it was clearly intended as an offensive weapon. When I confronted the hedgehog, I destroyed it in order to prove my intentions to him. Still, even from those shattered remains I managed to rebuild it better than it was before. You know him as E-123, although I've chosen the moniker 'Omega'."

At the sniping range was the stout, gorilla-esque war machine. It alternated between penetrating far-off targets and perforating nearby ones.

"I don't remember an 'E-123'," Bocoe whispered.

"I thought Dr. Eggman just skipped ahead to the E-1000's," Decoe replied.

"The choice of weaponry is a bit rustic for someone with your technological background. Am I supposed to be impressed?" Eggman said bluntly, referring to Omega's shell and cartridge-based ammunition.

"When you've lived in my time and seen the latest in weapons technology, you begin to develop a fondness for the classics. Lasers and energy weapons all sound alike: so generic and unintimidating. But a projectile weapon? I'd take that any day. The rigid clack of the trigger and hammer in your hands, the distant pop of some far-off uprising, it's all so much more relevant and consistent with our inner emotions. A 'zap' or a 'pew' makes you think you're watching a cartoon, but an unbridled 'bang!'? Now that's something that can get your heart racing."

They watched as Omega completed his targeting exercises. He obliterated each target in the most efficient manner possible, only pausing to change weapon types. When he was finished, Robotnik brought his ancestral colleague closer to examine the weapon switching mechanism. He opened the casings for Omega's massive forearms to reveal a variety of firearms fixed to a rotating barrel.

"It was clear that you designed Omega to be a versatile combatant, so I furthered that concept by giving him every major variety of classical ranged armaments. He's been gifted with a rifle for long range, rapid fire for multiple targets, buckshot for close range and ordinance for sturdier targets."

Upon hearing those words, Omega readied his grenade launcher and leveled a simulated bunker.

Robotnik raised an eyebrow. "That wasn't your cue, Omega."

Omega didn't reply.

"See what's wrong with him."

A couple of sentries cautiously approached the idle machine. Everyone was silent. Then there was the sound of the launcher cocking. The foot soldiers scrambled.

Omega quickly pivoted and, without hesitation, hurtled the next round squarely in Robotnik's direction. Two swatbots stepped in the grenade's trajectory. The two robots were crumpled by the explosion and collapsed on the ground in a smoldering pile, while their creator stood behind their remains, immaculate and unmoved. Omega was brought to the ground and disabled before he could load the next round.

Bokkun simply stared, mouth agape. Decoe and Bocoe shared this sentiment, but lacked the facial features to express it. Eggman's composure was the same as Robotnik's, although he felt tempted to crack a smile.

Robotnik did an about-face and stared into Eggman's bespectacled eyes for a time.

"You're not honestly going to blame me for that, are you?" Eggman scoffed.

They seemed to be reading each others' thoughts; Robotnik grinned in the same manner that Eggman had wanted to.

"I knew that there was still some fight left in you. I admit I only made a cursory check for any persistent loyalty programming that you may have left inside of him. I wanted to see if you lived up to my expectations. Still, I suppose the real stars of the show were my swatbots, who managed to thwart your efforts at a moment's notice."

"E-123 was still able to destroy them."

"And the swatbots were still able to disable him. The only ones that were destroyed did so willingly in order to protect their master."

"Touché, Robotnik."

"Oh, don't call me that. It's your name, as well."

"It's Dr. Eggman now."

"Oh please, what kind of nomenclature is 'Eggman'? Don't let those creatures give you nicknames; you're a Robotnik! It means 'worker' and it's a fitting term for us. We always take up the burdens; we do the jobs that others aren't strong or brave enough to do. We're not bound by petty morality like the pseudo-scientists of our culture. Technology and society move forward because of people like us, but we're hated for it."

"If you're going to get melodramatic about it, just call me Ivo. In any case, I never managed to catch your name."

"How about you call me 'Julian'?"


	24. Ch 24: Fallacy

**Author's Note: If I didn't make it clear enough, Rouge was the one in the sub with Knuckles. I try to refrain from using phrases like "Rouge said" or "Knuckles said" too much because it gets repetitive after a while. Whenever I don't refer to characters by name, I always try to put hints into their words or mood in order to indicate who's talking without me having to blatantly say it.**

**And, yes, the swatbots and the name "Julian" are non-subtle references to the SatAM fandom. It was going to be difficult to have Eggman and Robotnik refer to each other as Eggman and Robotnik because Eggman is just a nickname and they're both from the Robotnik family. So, I gave Eggman the name Ivo, which technically is his real name, and I gave the name Julian to Robotnik because that was Robotnik's real name in Sonic SatAM.**

**I said that I wasn't going to import characters from other tv shows, but it couldn't hurt to make my Robotnik have a few things in common with SatAM Julian. Eggman Nega is pretty much an underdeveloped character in the games, but since he's described as a "more evil" version of Eggman, Julian Robotnik popped into my mind almost immediately. Now, there are some differences between them, besides their appearance. First off, SatAM Julian was pretty much a jerk for no reason and simply craved power. SXD Julian is also a jerk, but as I will reveal more and more throughout the story, there's a reason for his aspirations. Also, SatAM Julian was more prone to fits of rage and resorting to physical violence, whereas SXD Julian can be bitter and cruel, but generally tends to take a more analytical approach and tries to wound his opponents psychologically.**

**Last thing, I promise, but in the last chapter when Robotnik was talking about projectile weapons vs. laser weapons, that was my way of poking fun at 4Kids, who changed virtually all of the gun sound effects in Sonic X to laser sound effects (even the missiles, which made no sense).**

The submarine delved further into the vast, oceanic canyon. The massive tunnel started to curve upright and eventually the sub surfaced in an underground cavern. The two jewel hunters stepped out of their craft and saw a series of makeshift lamps and generators lighting the way.

The Death Egg, mostly shrouded in distant darkness, had been brought up onto the land, in spite of how mind boggling it was to imagine the logistics of such a transfer. A single panel had been removed from the otherwise impeccably-smooth and polished structure. Several ramps and temporary walkways were attached to the various exposed quarters and decks.

As Knuckles and Rouge crept closer to the station's vicinity, several unseen lights popped on as they crossed underneath them.

"And now all of the players are accounted for," Robotnik's voice rang out from the hanging speakers. "Although even without my historical precognition, it wouldn't have been too hard to predict your actions. It's a shame that you lack virtually any complexity in your motives, because you're among the few in the hedgehog's troop who aren't nauseatingly-wholesome idealists."

"I'm already starting to dislike this new doctor," Knuckles muttered.

"Willing to bet that he's holding a list of words to use when he wants to sound smart?" Rouge retorted.

"I'm sure by now one of you is already starting to feel contempt for me, while the other one must have made some remark about my pretentiousness. I left this recorded message so that I could make my way to your position and observe you myself."

"As you can see, I'm a man who values punctuality," the real Robotnik's voice echoed from up on high. "So how's Silver, old boy? How have you all been coping with the loss of Blaze? That is, if you even knew her name without me having to tell you. Maybe you've been too distracted with your infatuations for that rock. I can identify with someone who keeps their eyes on the prize, although life tends to have more meaning when one's goals are more abstract."

Knuckles was fuming. "The Master Emerald is beyond the understandings of a fat rat like you."

"Oh that's where you're wrong. I'm actually the foremost authority on the stone; at least, I'm the foremost authority among the living. I understand its scientific properties, as well as its supposedly mystical qualities."

"You're not fooling anyone; only a guardian can begin to understand the Emerald's secrets."

"You give your people too much credit. I've met your successors. There was no emerald left for them to protect, and when they yearned for the food and shelter that I had offered them, they were more than willing to share their long-kept secrets with me. Just as hungry families in the desert use thousand-year-old manuscripts as kindling, your future contemporaries saw fit to cast off that broken heirloom known as guardianship when the times got tough."

The red-hot echidna was too indignant for words, and he simply uttered a feral sort of growl.

"Get a hold of yourself, Knucky; he's just trying to push your buttons."

With that, the two hunters started to lapse into their habit of bickering and one-upmanship.

"Oh, by the way," Robotnik interrupted glibly, "How's everything been for you since the fern died?"

Knuckles and Rouge were taken aback. Their contracted pupils locked squarely onto him and they didn't even bother to close their mouths.

"You know, the one that you were willing to lobotomize," he pointed to Knuckles, then to Rouge "and the one that you conspired to kill. Oh yes, I've seen your home movies. I'm sure you must be relieved to know that her purpose in life was fulfilled in just eight years; that must be a record," he concluded patronizingly.

"Don't…," Rouge began. Knuckles rocketed towards the offending voice's source. "…do anything stupid," she concluded in a deflated and mortified tone.

"Come on, come on! Go ahead and try to talk after I've shoved my fist down your throat!"

Knuckles sprinted up the side of the stalactites and lunged at the Doctor's overhanging platform. As soon as he gained his footing, he charged Robotnik, who aloofly stepped aside for the furious echidna to fall face-first on the metallic floor beside him.

Julian started backpedaling as his desperately enraged pursuer attempted to land sloppy uppercuts.

"I bet ol' Ivo never got this close to the action," Julian said with excitement and a trace of worry for his wellbeing.

Knuckles switched to a series of low cross punches, hoping to take out his fleeing foe's kneecaps. Once again, Julian sidestepped. He grabbed onto the massive gloved paw and, using its considerable weight as leverage, flipped the echidna over onto his back.

Robotnik didn't want to push his luck any further and high-tailed it out of there before his sparring partner could get back on his feet. The doctor's escape plan was hampered when Rouge flew up onto the platform and cornered him.

"I know you're not as easily tricked," Julian commended her, "probably because you've tricked so many others. As you know, when you've made a profession out of tricking, it's best to bring some protection in case if things don't go as planned."

She was startled by the sudden crash landing of a bulky drilling contraption in front of her.

"Your word play needs some work, and it could do with some cleaning up," Rouge remarked drolly.

Just then the machine started to stir to life and set its sights on the treasure hunter.

"Great, now I can get back at both of you for stealing my emerald," Knuckles said as he caught up with the doctor and his creation: the very drill that had taken the master emerald in the first place.

"Ah yes, E-122 was crestfallen when he learned that he wouldn't be having a rematch with you, but I need him elsewhere. I've prepared a special opponent for you, 'guardian.'"

Robotnik made his getaway while a new competitor, different altogether from the drill, stole the dull echidna's attention.

A fairly nondescript sphere with four large electrodes sticking out of it arose from one of the many rock pits. It began to light up and emit a low whine. A container of diamond shards emptied its contents into the air, and the fragments started to orbit around the metallic sphere. Faster and faster the minerals spun until they were barely visible. The hyperactive carbon solar system made its way towards Knuckles. Its exterior acted as a sander on overdrive, grinding away anything that it touched into dust.

**----------------------------------------------**

Eggman and his cronies shuffled back into their cell in silence and the glass wall reassembled itself exactly as it was that morning and the days before.

"You certainly showed him, Dr. Eggman," Bocoe congratulated.

"I never knew that you made a robot like that…," Bokkun wondered.

"That's because I didn't. Or at least… not yet."

"What do you mean?"

"Julian wasn't very specific about when I made it, but he was certain that I did indeed make it. Therefore, it's entirely possible that E-123 is a robot that I will make in the future. No, it has to be. I have to make this robot. Don't you know what that means?"

Decoe replied proudly: "That there will be yet another fine addition to your armada of-"

"-No! If I'm inevitably going to make this robot, then that means until that happens, I can't die."

"Huh?"

"I may be making leaps of logic here, but try to keep up. The fact that this robot still exists means that I still have to make it. If I don't live long enough to create it, that robot won't exist, but clearly it does exist. This robot exists; therefore, I will live long enough to make it. I don't have the tools to make it here, so that must mean that I'll one day be free from this cell, as if I didn't know that already."

"Yay, freedom!" Bokkun cheered.

"Freedom for me, at least. For the rest of you it's still up in the air." Eggman corrected.

Bokkun became sullen.

"But what if you didn't make it?" Decoe asked.

"That's improbable. Julian wanted to brag about his own creations, so he wouldn't even bother to claim that I made Omega if it wasn't true. Still, I suppose it's possible that neither he nor I made Omega and he doesn't know that, but the odds of such an outcome are remote; Omega is clearly my style of robot. To reiterate: nothing can touch me until I've fulfilled my obligation to history by creating Omega."

Although unsure of their own fates, the three dwarfish automatons applauded their master's deduction.

"Wow, Dr. Eggman. Even without a cannon in my head, you still manage to blow my mind!"

Julian Robotnik, who was now resuming his monitoring after dispatching of the two emerald-seeking intruders, simply scoffed at the light-hearted Doctor's conclusion. Ivo was still relying on assumptions based on outdated time travel theories.

"You're not ready yet, Ivo. Optimism has no place in the mind of a leader."


	25. Ch 25: Reprieve

**Author's Note: Once again we get to see Robotnik get under peoples' skin. When Robotnik refers to Cosmo as the "fern," I'm making a somewhat obscure reference to a line that's sometimes passed around anti-Taismo fan circles (I've mostly seen the phrase used on Youtube). I don't invest energy in pairing wars or couple-shipping because they're ultimately pointless, but in a way I see Robotnik as, in part, an embodiment of all the negative aspects of the Sonic fandom. The difference is that instead of supporting one particular character, Robotnik pretty much has nothing pleasant to say about any of them. He's pretty much the ultimate character-basher, although he only does so in order to mess with them. Like a Sonic fan, he's in many ways an outside observer of Sonic's world, and he almost interprets it as if it were a work of literature.**

**By having Robotnik essentially make a fool out of Knuckles in the previous chapter, I'm not trying to emphasize in any way that Robotnik has some sort of prowess in physical combat, I simply had him dodge and counter Knuckles' attacks to show just how sloppy Knuckles' rage had made him. I know to some extent Julian seems overpowered, but I tend to lean more towards giving extra power to the villains in this story because there are just so many heroes that they have to defeat. I mean, we're talking about a group of heroes that managed to defeat an interplanetary empire. Keep in mind that Robotnik's effectiveness and success are inflated due to his more advanced technology and the fact that he knows a considerable amount about his enemies, but they know pretty much nothing about him. If Robotnik had faced Sonic and the others in the same circumstances that Eggman has had to, his luck probably wouldn't have been any better than Eggman's.**

Finally things had quieted down at the Rabbit household. It was still just as crowded as ever, what with the three detectives being replaced by Chris, Tails and Silver, but there were far fewer disputes and shenanigans going about.

Chris was helping the two long-eared Lagomorphs tidy up the place after their last get-together.

"Lago-what?" Vanilla asked.

"Lagomorpha, it's the scientific term in my world for rabbits and hares," Chris laughed nervously.

"Oh. I wish the people who name things could have come up with something that sounded nicer," Cream said in her typical wispiness.

"Well, there's always 'bunny,'" Chris pointed out.

"Hmm, what do you think of it, Cheese?"

"Chew chew!" which was Cheese's response to everything.

"It's nice to get back to the simple stuff. I don't have as much of a taste for those high-risk situations that always seem to pop up around here," Chris said mostly to himself. "By the way, where did Amy and Silver run off to?"

"I'm afraid she didn't say," Vanilla replied unsatisfactorily. "Amy has quite the spirit, it seems like her work is never done."

"Yeah, I guess since Sonic and Tails are out she's decided to focus her attention on him. I think I even heard her say something about Silver being her 'next project'."

**-----------------------------------**

For their outing, the old duo had chosen a stroll through Windy Valley. The deciding factor was the Chaos Emerald that was in the area, according to Tails' radar. Sonic insisted that they just focus on relaxing, but Tails explained that he'll feel more at ease knowing that at least one of the emeralds is free from unsavory hands.

It was far from the ideal day, weather-wise. The skies were quickly becoming overcast and, as one would expect, the lush fields were lying prone from the roaring gales that the valley was renowned for. Still, Tails tried not to let this get in the way. Sonic was taking things slow to enjoy what could be enjoyed of the violent drafts that seem to arise constantly.

"Ok, the radar says that the emerald is… that way," Tails pointed. "Let's see who can get there first," he grinned.

As soon as Sonic turned to see if he had heard him correctly, Tails already had a considerable lead. Sonic quickly gained on him, but was taken by surprise by a sudden drop-off in the terrain. Tails simply cruised past the rocky hilltops while Sonic had to make careful jumps, not willing to take his chances running through the misty depths bellow.

Even with this advantage, Tails knew that his lead was only temporary. He didn't care; he knew that this was the perfect way to show Sonic that everything was going to be alright, and for once he started to believe that himself.

He was closing in on the emerald and started to slow down in fear of shooting past it. Sonic was still behind. _He must've let me win._ He peered down at a cave at the base of the cliffs. This is where the radar was leading him, and it looked like it was formed from debris and loose-hanging rocks. Then something peculiar occurred: someone came out of the cave.

"Why'd you stop?" Sonic asked. "You find something?"

"Shh, look."

It was hard to place exactly who or what it was. Even in broad daylight it had a shaded, colorless appearance. Its shape was almost fluid: its hair, or quills, or whatever it had, was constantly in flux and obscuring its true profile. It seemed to be of typical Mobian size, otherwise.

"Looks like someone beat us to it," Sonic said in earnest. He was about to dash down the cliff side when Tails grabbed his arm.

"Hold on, there's something wrong here."

"Yeah, I know."

"Not just that; according to the radar the emerald hasn't moved at all. This person seems to be leaving the emerald right where it is."

"Who would do that?"

"I don't know. It could be a trap."

"Then we might as well stop them before they finish setting it up."

The suspect was fiddling with a gadget of some sort and writing down something with a stylus. It jumped and almost threw the device into the air when Sonic blocked its path in less than a heartbeat.

"Is there something we can help you with?" Sonic had to shout over the deafening roar of the winds, which were amplified after being funneled through the straight, narrow valley.

The stranger uttered no reply. It draped one hand over its face and input a quick series of digits into its gadget with the other. Before even Sonic could react, the creature vanished in a flash of light.

"Well so much for that."

"Hold up, Sonic. I'm picking up some kind of trail. I think that guy just used chaos control!"

"Can you figure out where he went?"

"Yeah. Here, take the radar and follow him, you've got a better chance of catching him. I'll get the emerald, it's still here."

"Ok, but be careful."

Tails gave an assuring nod and scrambled into the cave as Sonic raced off.

Sonic once again tore through the plains. He wasn't too committed to catching this culprit, but he knew that something wasn't right about this whole situation. He spotted a black dot in the direction that the radar indication. Unfortunately, the sound of his running foreshadowed his presence and the creature once again slipped out of his grasp when it heard him coming.

Perhaps next time he could try to break the sound barrier in order to get there before any noise could warn his target, but he scrapped this plan when he realized that it was too much effort to be investing in such an unknown. It's not that he was unable to provide that effort: he just didn't want to risk pulverizing someone who may not have done anything wrong to begin with.

He'd have to let this go for now, although the fact that he wasn't fast enough to catch someone did bruise his ego. It was time to head back. As he glanced at the radar, his worst fears were confirmed: the emerald was on the move, but it was moving away from his position. This whole chase had been a diversion.

**-----------------------------------------**

In the distant tunnel he could see a green glow. Tails was relieved to know that he wouldn't have to worry about finding it without the radar. Just as he was becoming confident in his search, he was stopped dead in his tracks. At least a dozen automatons were pointing loaded weapons solely at him, apparently awaiting his arrival. The only one among their numbers who didn't follow this trend was the one in the back holding the green chaos emerald. All of the robots were exactly identical: hefty, globular torsos supported by frail stick limbs. Their lower halves were jet black, while the rest was red and yellow striped, save for a chrome skull cap.


	26. Ch 26: Trifles

**Author's Note: I decided to use Windy Valley as the locale for this chapter because it was oddly absent from the Sonic X adaptation of Sonic Adventure. It seemed like a really peaceful and fun place to spend time at, and Sonic and Tails were both playable in that level. Those were Egg Bots that I described at the end of the previous chapter: the same type of robot that Egg Robo is.**

Right now all that Silver wanted was to go home. Even though his response was tepid to his new lodgings with the Rabbit family, in his eyes anything was preferable to this. Amy dragged him from stand to stand at the local bazaar.

"Listen, I know what you're thinking," Amy said half-heartedly without looking at him while she was digging through a bargain bin. "This must be pretty boring, right?"

"Yeah." Silver was relieved that she understood that much, at least.

"I know," she started to whine; "this is nothing like shopping in the city. I don't know how I ever got by before knowing how humans do it."

Silver sighed. She still doesn't understand. His own disastrous childhood, as well as Blaze's tutelage, had taught him to be self-reliant and to ignore the pursuit of material gain. Even the once-kindly Julian, who had amassed a fortune for his relief efforts, was not wary of denouncing the ways of materialism in public, even though he risked looking like a hypocrite.

Silver never agreed with the idea of staying with these people, and he wouldn't have gone along with it if Blaze hadn't asked him to. That was the irony, of course: the person who taught him self-reliance was the one person he thought he could never live without.

Questions still raced around his head regarding her final will: did she underestimate her own importance in his life and think that she could simply be replaced by any given group of people? Did she realize that she didn't teach him well enough to make it on his own and simply made him someone else's burden? Or perhaps she regretted her enclosed and inwardly-focused lifestyle and wanted to make sure he didn't go down the same path. None of these interpretations satisfied his curiosity, let alone did justice to his feelings and respect for his all-in-one 'other'.

A distant roar could be heard, and the various patrons of the market turned their gaze in one direction. Off in the distance, a metallic corsair sliced through the clouds. It was one of Robotnik's airships.

"Come on!" Amy said as she dragged him along.

**-------------------------------------------**

He tore through the trees and caused avalanches as he raced back down the cliffs. How could he have been so stupid? He went on this wild goose chase while leaving Tails to deal with what he himself thought could be a trap. As he went through the caves he noticed that the cave was, in fact, a tunnel that connected to the other side of the cliff. Once again he embraced the daylight as he came out the other end and saw that the chaos emerald was right on top of him. He looked up and saw a defensive formation of metallic balloons rising in the sky. Wasting no time, he beat them up the cliff and stopped them in their tracks.

"What have you done with Tails?" he demanded with a hint of desperation.

"Huh?"

"I don't have time for guessing games. He was after that emerald while I was tracking down your shady friend."

"Shady friend?"

One of the other robots buzzed in: "Ooh, ooh! I know, he's talking about the Liaison!"

The robots proceeded to ignore his question and converse amongst themselves.

"The same one that Father wanted us to be on the look out for?"

"Yes, we were only supposed to take the emerald after the Liaison performed its duty."

"Splendid then, this means that the word of prophecy has been fulfilled!"

The crowd of hovering robots rejoiced while Sonic was at a loss for words.

"Listen, you better tell me where Tails is. Oh, and you better hand over that emerald while you're at it."

"We don't know about any tails, and handing over the emerald would violate our grand mission."

In a simultaneous motion the robots drew their guns on Sonic. He prepared to act, but instead the robots simply fled into the skies without so much as firing a warning shot.

"Sonic!"

"Tails!"

The little one had finally caught up to him. Apparently Sonic had scaled the cliff so fast that he didn't even notice him.

"Grab on!" Tails huffed as he lifted Sonic off the ground.

"Easy Tails, don't hurt yourself."

"Don't worry about it. These guys ran away from me, even, so it shouldn't be too tough to take care of them."

They pursued the emerald thieves lazily through the skies as the boy struggled to bear the load.

"Just let me down, Tails. You're gonna burn yourself out like this!"

When it seemed like the Egg Bots were about to vanish in the distance, a familiar airship arose from the foggy depths to extract them. Its shell was olive green and the wind was drowned out as its turbines began to rev up. Extending bellow the main body of the craft were several extendable pods with turret placements on them: intended for strafing ground targets. The ship was probably taller than it was wide, and soon it overlapped half of the afternoon horizon.

It was only when Tails was close enough to land on the ship that he couldn't take the strain anymore and started to freefall. He simply tossed Sonic as close to the craft as he could while he tried to slow his descent. The emerald radar slipped out of Sonic's hands and Tails grabbed a hold of it.

"Tails!"

"Go on! I'll be back to pick you up!" he shouted as the volume of his voice plummeted along with him.

It took him a few tries, but Sonic managed to find a stable grip as he slid down the surface of the ship. He was having a tough time scaling the steep, slippery slope, so he decided to make an opening with a quick spin dash.

**-----------------------------------------**

Eggman wanted some time to himself to think, so he asked Decoe and Bocoe to recharge for the time being. Bokkun, on the other hand, had to be pinned down and have his battery pack removed with a screwdriver that the doctor had fashioned from spare parts.

Naturally, he figured that this would be the perfect opportunity for Julian to have a heart-to-heart with him, and his assumptions proved mostly correct. The one divergence in his idea's execution was that Julian was talking to him via video chat. Apparently his expertise was required for a task that the worker droids were unable to perform. Eggman was surprised that Robotnik had already wasted so much time talking to him in person.

"Why do you do it, Ivo?"

"You haven't exactly told me your goal, either."

"Chalk it up to my dramatic sense of timing. You and the hedgehog can find out together when the day comes, although I'm tempted to tell you a little bit about it soon. Anyway, why do you do it?"

"I'm starting to get sick of you always asking for something in exchange for nothing."

"I'm not asking for much, I just want to know why you do things the way that you do. You claim you want to change the world, but why do you treat it like a game? Why do you build gimmicky inventions picked from a slot machine?" Julian began to grow incredulous of his forebear's intentions. "Why is it that you're willing to step all over the world, but deep down you seem terrified of actually hurting someone?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Eggman pouted.

"Don't give me that. You know exactly what this is about. It's him. I swear it's almost as if you set up these schemes of yours only so that he can foil them. If that weren't enough, you always seem to be at a loss for your next move when you're on the verge of victory. I may only be the humble reader in this tale of yours, but the theme is clear."

"In that case you're looking for meaning where there is none. That hedgehog has been a thorn in my side since day one and my dream won't come true until I'm rid of him."

"There's a time when I would have believed you, back when you were in your prime, but you've grown soft. He's not your enemy, or even a thorn in your side. He's your rival, your competitor, your playmate. You once had a goal in life, but it's only devolved into a game, hasn't it? Your antics give him opportunities to prove himself the 'hero,' while his efforts provide a challenge for your ambitions. You feed each other, basically."

"You're one to talk, Julian. Ever since you've gotten here it's been 'hedgehog' this and 'hedgehog' that. You could at least address him by name, or are you in denial about your obsession with him?"

"We are alike in that sense, aren't we? But it's our differences that are the most important. The truth is, you're afraid to kill him because your life would lose meaning after that point. I, on the other hand, am more than willing to go all the way with this endeavor. You see, my plan doesn't just stop with the hedgehog. Even after he's gone, there's still much for me to do. Killing him isn't enough; I have to stamp out every trace of his existence and ensure that nobody remembers him. That's one of the reasons why I don't use his name: it feeds into his legacy."

"You're a terrible liar, Julian. Any simpleton with a time machine would've simply stopped him from existing in the first place, if that was really the plan."

"Oh, believe me, I would have. But as much as it pains me to admit, we wouldn't be standing here if it weren't for him. I had to pick a date after his major accomplishments. I chose this time in particular because it's when he's the most vulnerable psychologically. For him, there's trouble at home, you see. Of course, I don't need to remind you, you were one of the many eyewitnesses of that fact."

Eggman offered no rebuttal.

**-------------------------------------------**

A bed of flowers was the best landing spot that he could have hoped for. If only he had been lucky enough to get to the emerald first. If only he had been smart enough to see through their ruse.

There it was again: that thing. At the top of the cliffs the feral silhouette gazed in wonder at the departing aircraft and simply jotted further observations. Probably informing Dr. Robotnik of a job well done, or perhaps to warn him about Sonic making it onboard the ship, Tails assumed.

There were only two people that came to mind who could use Chaos Control. Sonic, of course, had an alibi. Even though process of elimination designated Shadow as the mysterious stranger, he didn't seem like the type to run from a fight. He also wasn't the type to loiter around and just leave a chaos emerald sitting in a cave.

Obviously this person must have been using an artificial chaos emerald: its residue showed up on radar, but the presence wasn't as strong as the real emerald. Then he remembered that he had snatched the radar from falling just a moment ago. It still worked and it still faintly picked up the eavesdropper's trail.

Tails tried to approach this objectively: sure, he was annoyed with this person for serving as Robotnik's distraction, but were any of these wrong-doings intentional? It didn't matter, Tails concluded. Prior to now there had only been two individuals (that he was aware of) who could tap into the power of the emeralds, and their influence on this world was paramount. For the sake of security, and his own peace of mind, he had to track down and ascertain the identity of this new entity. The chase was on.


	27. Ch 27: Hearsay

**Author's Note: Not much to say about the last chapter. I think in general I've been trying to inject more humor into this season than the previous one. I think that may have been why I decided to make the Egg Bots into chatty cowards, rather than mute killing machines.**

It seemed that he was having some good luck today, after all. Sonic had ended up in the same area as the emerald thieves. They were all in a large chamber, with Sonic several floors below, but he could spot them on a distant walkway. When he managed to close the vertical distance, the plump purloiners took notice of him. Instead of fighting him head on, or even taking the defensive, they uttered a terrified yelp in unison and scattered.

Bewildered, Sonic simply pursued a random member of the troop. When he was about catch the yellow-bellied bot, a wall of energy snapped into place between them. Likewise, three other walls appeared around him, sealing him within a narrow corridor that was no wider than his body.

The lights popped on and gave life to the dank halls of the ship. An entire pulpit of Egg Bots looked upon the imprisoned hedgehog as if he were the star attraction. They were deftly silent, until their hero revealed himself from behind a curtain.

This 'hero' was like them, but a more advanced make. His main body was mostly spherical, but had blocky portions carved out of it near the shoulders and hips. Rather than being propped up by stick limbs, this model had meatier appendages that, at a cursory glance, looked like they could fold themselves perfectly to fill the gaps in the robot's otherwise round torso. He had a similar color scheme, but with more details painted jet black than on his lesser brethren. His most defining trait was a yellow muffler that was wrapped around his lack of a neck. Combined with his round helmet-shaped head, his goggle-like bulging eyes and his poufy legs, the scarf gave him the appearance of an old-fashioned fighter pilot from an earlier human era.

Rather than trying to crudely imitate his prisoner by walking to the center stage, this new robot opted to glide on the wheels built inside of his heels. He was met with thunderous applause, which did not relent until he motioned for silence.

His voice projected itself throughout the room with the air of a gentleman of an age left far behind. "As we have proven today, the maker's predictions are indisputable. You have seen for yourselves that the Chaos Emerald was found exactly where we were told to find it. As I speak, our six sister ships have already made their way home to return the other six Chaos Emeralds."

Sonic was stunned by this news.

"Oh yes," the lead Egg Bot hissed with spite at the blue hedgehog, "we've known where the emeralds would roughly be all along: we just need the Liaison to tell us exactly where they landed. Now, what would someone like you say in this sort of situation? Oh yes, I remember." His facial expression whirred for a moment, then his voice adjusted to match Sonic's perfectly in pitch and tone. "You're too slow!" he jabbed at Sonic with the hedgehog's own playful repartee.

Now wasn't the time to lose his cool, so Sonic simply chuckled. "Yeah, that's probably what I would say. So, can we cut to the chase here? Keep me waiting too long and I might just foil your scheme before you finish your big speech."

"Oh, I'm done talking to you, but if you don't mind I'd like to address my people with a personal note."

He seamlessly redirected his ramblings towards the crowd, not even waiting for the hedgehog's response to that request. "My brothers, a short while ago I was no different from you. Sure, I had special privileges and even my own unique moniker, 'E-122: Egg Robo,' but you and I were the same. It was only after my experience that I learned that I could be more than what I was. You see, an encounter with a rather forceful adversary left me crippled and plunging to the depths of the sea, never to be seen again. However, there was one who hadn't forgotten me: one who sees all and knows all. Rather than simply ignoring me, or just restoring me to my former self, he built me up into something better. He remade me in his image and imbued me with knowledge of future events, and in turn I have shared this knowledge with you and raised you above the level of obedient drones. And so, when the time comes for him to reclaim the world, he shall raise up its inhabitants to a new level."

"He must have also given you a silver tongue," a stern voice echoed drolly from the depths. Sonic immediately recognized who it was.

"An interloper? No matter, I will not delay the prisoner's fate a moment further," Egg Robo uttered hurriedly as he flipped a nearby switch.

Within the energy corridor that Sonic was trapped inside of, a projector of sorts lowered from the ceiling. It emitted a far harsher beam of energy than the walls were made of, and it began to make its way down the narrow rectangular prism. There was no room to maneuver around the beam in this narrow space, and the device emitting this harsh beam was protected with its own energy shield.

The hidden slanderer revealed himself when he landed in the middle of the crowd without any foreshadowing. The patrons recoiled in terror at Shadow's unexpected presence.

"Ordinarily I don't care what you are up to, but I have business with the one who kept me frozen in a box for the past month."

"You're too late;" Egg Robo declared triumphantly, "your friend is done for."

The projector had already completed its trek through the energy corridor and vaporized everything inside.

"He wasn't my friend."

"What a guy, I'm sure he only says that when he knows I'm around," Sonic jested as he popped up beside Shadow. "If you're wondering how I got out: it turns out that you forgot to install a shield for the floor."

"Get them!" Egg Robo fumed, "carry out your maker's will and you'll become like me, no matter what harm comes unto you."

While Sonic and Shadow cleaved through the cowardly crowd, their leader made his speedy getaway. When the two hedgehogs fully dispatched with his pulpit, they gave chase.

Just as they were about to catch him in the next hall, the lofty droid blasted off the covering of a sizable intake valve mounted on the wall. He tucked himself into a spheroid shape and plunged down the vacant pipeline. Sonic and Shadow followed suit.

It was impressive that such a long-winded opponent actually knew the finer points of rolling into a ball. Even more impressive was the fact that he apparently had surpassed the two speedsters at one of their own arts, for he managed to maneuver himself through the labyrinth of piping as deftly as a rolling sage, if there is such a thing. His superior spinning skills allowed him to widen his lead in front of the two trailing spin-balls. It's true that they more than matched him in raw speed, but they couldn't take a corner or a curve as gracefully as he could.

He was expelled from an exhaust port on the topside of the ship. He flung out his limbs, which screeched as their extremities clawed at the hull. When he came to a slow enough speed, he withdrew his gun and aimed at the portal he just came out of. No matter how fast they were, they would have to come out of that opening and they'd be heading strait for his bullet.

A kindly hand tapped him on the shoulder.

"Watchya aimin' at?"

Purely out of reflex, Egg Robo turned around to see the blue hedgehog's polite smile greet him. This was a mistake, because Shadow used this as his opportunity to move in behind him. Now he was surrounded. He took a step aside and turned to get both of his targets in his sights. This didn't improve his odds of survival one iota, but it made him feel more at ease. When he realized that this wasn't going to work, he holstered his weapon in one of his hidden compartments.

"Don't think that I'll go as quietly as my congregation. You see, they were designed with self-preservation as a higher priority than in their 'cousins.' As a result, they're more passive than the manner to which you're accustomed. Don't fret, because I'm more than willing to show ferocity in devotion to my master."

"I'd hate to break it to you," Sonic shrugged, "but your 'master' isn't worth much devotion."

"He's a thief," Shadow added.

"Oh, I'm well aware that this plan of ours isn't the work of just one mind," Egg Robo assured them, "for that is yet another grain of knowledge that I have yet to share with the others. Most of my brothers think that we have one master, but in a way we also have three. There's the first, who first created us; the second was begotten from him, and came from another time to enlighten and save us. And finally, there's the elusive spirit that mediates between the two relatives and brings the plans together." He stared at Shadow coyly. "I wonder… if what he says about you is true."

"I don't care what anyone says about me!" Shadow shouted as he hurled a Chaos Spear, which split the talkative robot's skull and flung the remains to the ground.

"A little harsh, don't you think?" Sonic stuttered.

"We've wasted enough time talking. They still have an emerald, remember?"

Sonic nodded in agreement.

"I'm sorry if my candor isn't up to your standard," Egg Robo winced as his body snapped upright. There was a massive crater in his face that ran the depth of his metallic shell. Within the gaping hole was a green crystal in a protective container attached to several internal mechanisms.

Shadow readied another bolt of energy, but he was thrown to the ground. He tried to get up, but his hands and feet were cuffed to the hull.

"I always wondered if Power Rings could be magnetized," Robo mused. He snapped his fingers and his unsightly scar folded shut and the cracks disappeared. With a movement of his hands the nearby tiles and scaffolding were lifted from their fixtures and began to whirl around his person.

Sonic readied himself while his foe amassed a sizable vortex of debris.

"When I said earlier that I was made in my masters' image, I wasn't referring to appearance. You see, they and I share a common gift: I, too, can create using the metals of the Earth."


	28. Ch 28: Cornered

**Once again Shadow has been wrangled into the plot. I think I would consider myself an Egg Robo fan at this point. I think it's because Sonic 3 & Knuckles was pretty much my favorite Sonic game, hence all of the references to it. Even though Egg Robo was just a Robotnik replacement for Knuckles to fight in the games, he still had this sort of coolness about him. He was like Robotnik, but usually his boss fights were harder. It's a shame that Sega never really used him much after that. With the Egg Bots, I was sort of toying with the idea of robots who were religiously devoted to their master (literally). It's never elaborated on in the later parts of the story, but I'd like to think that Julian either reprogrammed the Egg Bots to act that way or he kept them around (presumably after Eggman had initially programmed them that way) because they amused him. To some extent they're caricatures of the "moral perfectionists" that he despises so much, but I'll get more into that later.**

They both plummeted down the face of the cliff. He tucked his arms in to gain speed, but he overshot the creature when it spread its limbs and locks in an effort to slow down. Tails managed to stop himself in the knick of time. So did the creature: it glided through the skies with ease above the fox. As Tails regained altitude, the Liaison once again vanished. He checked the radar.

It seemed not too long ago when he was the only one who knew how to fly around here. He was a prodigy in terms of his technological feats, but being a prodigy wasn't enough to surpass the 'Robotnik's or the 'Thorndyke's of the world. He desperately wanted to be of value to his friends, but it seemed like as time marched on the field became more crowded and his services became less unique as others' abilities started to overlap his own.

He brought this line of thinking to a screeching halt.

_I can't blame my problems on others; it's my fault, it always was._

He rebuked himself for the promise that he made earlier.

_Sonic doesn't need to be picked up; he'll have the Chaos emerald to use for his getaway_.

He batted this idea around as he weighed his two options.

_Even if Sonic doesn't need me, he'll still be expecting me to be there. Stupid stupid stupid. Why did I tell him that? Now he'll probably stay on that ship longer than he needs to, expecting to be picked up._

_  
No, wait. Sonic wouldn't waste time in getting out of there. If he thought I was coming, he'd probably just try to look for me on his way out and leave if he didn't see me._

He had already spent this much effort on his current task, and he was making progress: the creature seemed to be traveling shorter and shorter distances with each successive teleport. It must be getting tired. It'd be best, he decided, not to let this opportunity escape. After all, when was the last time Sonic really needed him?

**-------------------------------------------**

This battle reminded him of the fight with Iblis, only on a smaller scale. All of his efforts to punch through his adversary's newly-formed shell were for the most part successful, but they did little to turn the tide of battle. Even when Sonic landed a direct blow to Egg Robo himself, whatever damage he inflicted would immediately be undone.

Going on the offensive, Robo coated his dense shell of scrap with upright shards of sheet metal to serve as a painful deterrent for physical attacks. From his palette of magnetically-charged metal, he forged two sturdy claws perfect for plucking hedgehogs out of the sky. As he was about to charge into battle, he was thrown off course by an energy blast.

His eyes spied Shadow: free from his power-inhibiting rings. Before he could react, another explosion popped open his thick mantle and sent the rest of his shell plummeting to the ground. Smoke was rising from Shadow's finger tips.

This probably seemed like a defeat, but those two organic fools hadn't figured out that he wasn't all there. You see, at the moment Egg Robo's magnetic powers activated, this entire ship came under his control: not just in terms of the authority handed down to him, but it physically became his to manipulate.

The floor panels wrapped around Shadow's ankles and hoisted him into the air. Robo directed all the metal that he could to encase the persistently pessimistic pest. When it looked like he was about to be fully encapsulated, chunks of the cocoon were blown away from a series of point-blank chaos spears.

His patience already tried, Egg Robo held the hedgehog's hands out so that they couldn't blast his restraints. By this time Sonic was already trying to break Robo's concentration by stripping away layers of his metallic shell and plowing through the center of his planetoid-like mass, but the blue fur ball was little more than a distraction at this point.

Realizing that he couldn't free himself at the moment, the ebony hedgehog simply gave the chrome ball a defying stare. Egg Robo retorted by hurling the handcuffed hedgehog through several meters of scaffolding. He concluded this thrashing when Shadow's forehead met with a piece of pipe that let out a shudder-inducing "Crack!" Not even concerned with the hedgehog's ultimate fate, he simply dumped the body on the ground and turned his attention to the one that was still moving.

**-----------------------------------------------**

"By the way, Ivo, have you been giving as much thought to the recent brainteaser as I have?"

"And which one would that be?"

"The one regarding our 'ghost friend,' as you would call him. Mephiles has his own cohort carrying out his orders, a being that he refers to as 'the Liaison.' I've read the information that it relayed to me: the locations of the seven chaos emeralds. Several of these locations were in the depths of the ocean; a place that no ordinary being would be able to travel to. Of course, it is hard to say what qualifies as 'normal' in this world. I've also noticed that the data logs containing the emeralds' locations were all recorded today. Apparently this person can travel anywhere in the world and in a short span of time."

"Chaos control?"

"Apparently so."

"Sounds like Shadow."

"A good first guess. The weather cameras stationed on the Flying Battery piloted by E-122 indicate that this being can also travel through the air. Like I said, this person can travel anywhere that it sets its mind to. As for the issue of Chaos control, there are ways around that limiting factor. You see, in my time we were able to develop personal devices that could utilize chaos energies from artificial emeralds. Not too long ago mine went missing; it's not too hard to piece together who must have it."

"Knuckles and Rouge were here recently, weren't they? Is that where you're leading me?"

"No, this person will always run from a fight without saying a word, according to the accounts of robots that have encountered it. Also, keep in mind that my chaos device went missing before I traveled back in time."

"Your hints aren't making this any easier, you know," Eggman uttered in an irate tone. "Either tell me who it is or just talk about something else, because I'm finding it really hard to care anymore. I'm not exactly a mind-reader."

"I've given you more hints than what I knew when I first figured it out. You've met this person. I haven't, although I must say that I look forward to the day when I do. It all came to me after reading Mephiles' actions. He was very careful not to mention who it was when he was around us, implying that this person has some sort of significance in at least one of our lives."

Eggman sighed. "You just don't get it… I don't know anyone who can go anywhere, anytime."

"Think about it: this being can survive in just about any environment, for a short time at least, but it's too frail to put up a fight. It will live long enough to see my time, and it has already lived through yours. Finally, we must remember that this person must be very loyal and obedient to go along with such an elaborate plan like this. Mephiles isn't very forthcoming, so this must be someone who's not inclined to ask a lot of questions. Perhaps 'spineless' would be a better term. The fact that it was so willing to go along with such a plan must mean that it has a low sense of self-worth. It's someone you've met; it can be anyone among the hundreds of prominent people that you've met."

"Sorry Julian, but I don't have time to be pondering riddles. Why don't we just change the subject?"

"I'm disappointed, Ivo. I was hoping to test your deductive skills and see just how far outside the box you were willing to think. Oh well, maybe some other time," Robotnik sighed as he was finishing up. "I suppose I might as well just give it away: it's something that I was vaguely alluding to just before I brought up this whole Liaison business. I'll be around shortly."

After his company's reprieve, Ivo pondered that last cryptic hint for a while. He was overcome with a cold dread when the pieces, for an instant, snapped into place within his mind. He quickly shook them apart with a deep shudder.

_If what you're suggesting is true, then Mephiles must have a very sick sense of humor. If it's a lie, then I could say the same of you, Julian._

**--------------------------------------------**

This was the chance he had been waiting for. The target was resting in a field of tall grass. As long as he was quiet, he could finally sneak up on this 'Liaison.' He timed his steps with the heavy spurts of wind, trying to muffle their sound. Tails eventually made his way to a small gap in the field. There it was.

It seemed to be pondering some distant meaning of life as it looked down at the bare patch in the otherwise lush field.

The wind died down for once, and Tails was able to get a more illuminating look at the creature's true form. It had massive, conic ears: larger than a hedgehog's, more like the kind that Tails himself had. Its head had a relatively sleek appearance, given the bad hair day that it was having earlier. A few short locks poked out in front, while it had quills that reached its legs in the back. Its forearms were bulky and misshapen, while the feet were tiny by Mobian standards. This ensemble was lost once more as the wind kicked up again and threw its features into an unintelligible mess.

The fresh wind provided him with the opportunity, now it was time to act. Tails wrapped his arms around the creature as they both tumbled through the bushes. He managed to pin it by sitting on its stomach and stepping on its wrists. Just when he seemed to have its wriggling under control, a bright light surrounded the two of them. Now, instead of a meadow they were now in front of his workshop, of all places.

"Chaos control can work on more than one person at a time," Tails clarified to his distraught prey. He theorized that his thoughts and desire to go home must have influenced the trajectory of their teleportation.

Something rolled onto the ground from the Liaison's possession. Tails eyed it pensively.

"You've gotta be kidding."

It was an emerald radar, like his own. The model was smaller and sleeker than his.

"So you _were_ working with Robotnik."

He noticed another detail that caused him to double-take; in small print, on the back of the radar, was a copyright notice: "Prower Industries Ltd."

"Is this some kind of joke?"

His eyes caught another gadget in the creature's hand. It was some type of canister with a trigger built into it and an easy-interface panel tacked on. As soon as he freed it from its fingers, something remarkable happened. The Liaison's hand began to lose its dark and muddled hue, and instead a pale tone started to reveal itself underneath. The rest of its body began to follow suit.

Tails paid little mind to this transformation, and instead examined this wondrous device. He rattled it around and it sounded like broken glass on the inside. Just as he had suspected: artificial chaos emeralds, or shards of them, rather. The buttons were large with clear labels like "teleport" and "transform." Obviously, this person wasn't the creator of this device; Tails never bothered to give his control panels such obvious labels unless if he was planning on letting someone else use it, and he imagined that other geniuses had the same policy.

When he came to accept that he wasn't going to learn anything else about the device right now, his eyes finally drifted to the revealed culprit. He winced and turned away. It was no use: even with his eyes shut, he could still see the snapshot of those features stubbornly refusing to fade from the inside of his eyelids.

He was just starting to improve. As much as he despised himself for it, he had recently accepted that he would have to move past those days in order to live the next. He was terrified of sliding backwards into that hole once more. What a fool he had been. He wasn't getting better, he was simply deceiving himself. When things seemed to be on the right track, the problem just manifested itself in other ways. This always happens: the better he began to feel, the worse he would be in just a short time. He had pursued this unknown foe with such determination today. He had taken up this outing with such a chipper attitude that it could only have resulted in a more palpable crash later on. Now his very grip on reality was jeopardized.

Could this be a good thing? No, that simply isn't possible; it isn't true. He knew that if he looked again, what he saw before would be gone, lest he had gone insane. He memorized those features and recited them to himself once more: silky skin with a plain expression, bundled in a dress coat. Paper-thin waves served as the head's wrapping. What he had earlier thought were quills were really glistening petals being violently thrown upward by the ravaging winds. Plump roses twisted shut, extending from the temples. Her scarlet, crystalline heart had no pulse.

"What's wrong?" she asked in soft terms.

Within his distraught head, he finally articulated this revelation to himself:

_Cosmo…_


	29. Ch 29: The Kindness of Strangers

He was dumbfounded for a moment, until he realized how inconsiderate he was being. He immediately got up and gave her some space. She didn't seem the least bit angry, just sullen and disappointed in herself. She brushed herself off.

"Excuse me, but could I have those back… please?" her voice trailed off and she didn't bother to make eye contact.

"Cosmo…"

"Pardon me?"

"Cosmo, do you remember who I am?"

"I'm sorry, but not offhand."

"Miles Prower? 'Tails'?"

"Miles Prower…" Suddenly she turned away and covered her face in shame. "Oh, I've made a terrible mistake!"

"What is it?"

"I'm not supposed to interact with anyone, especially not historical figures. It's all my fault."

"But I'm the one who found you."

"But I'm not allowed to say anything. It was selfish of me to disobey just because I found someone who knew me. I shouldn't say anymore, please forget you saw me," she said as she began to storm off.

"Wait, wait, don't leave."

"I'm sorry, but I have to," she said in spite of the fact that she halted in her tracks to answer him.

"But I already know you, and I've seen you anyway so what good would leaving do? Besides, don't you want these back?" he waved the radar and the chaos driver.

"Yes… I would, if you don't mind."

He handed them over with an inviting smile on his face. An odd gesture, considering that he was essentially saying goodbye by giving up his only bargaining chip, but illogical acts of kindness were par for the course for him.

She was about to leave, but something was troubling her. "You know, you're the only one who's ever known my name without me having to give it… I don't have anything left to do now, I don't think. If you wouldn't mind, would it be ok if I accompanied you to wherever it is that you're going?"

Tails held back his enthusiasm and gave a more reserved answer. "I'd be delighted."

**-------------------------------------------**

Julian had grown aggravated. Even though his attempts to entice his ancestor's intellect had gone sour, something else had left him unnerved.

_So, you really are one of them, aren't you? I realized that our goals were different from the get-go, but the fact that you were so willing to help me made me think that you at least understood what I wanted._

_  
You were helpless to stop me, but I was quick to change that in order to meet the terms of our agreement. I assumed that you wanted what any stock villain wanted: power, destruction, immortality, but the truth is far more distressing. But in a way, you're exactly what this world needs. At least now I know that whether I succeed or not is a moot point. If I'm unable to show the world just how wrong he is, you'll be more than enough to finish the job._

_Mephiles, now that you've gone and marched her back into this world, I wonder just what ideas you've been putting into her empty head. What did you hope to accomplish by playing this supposed trump card? Are you hoping to make a fool out of me? I can see through your ruse, and I'll make sure that the boy is made aware of this trick that you're trying to play on him. We'll all be seeing each other very soon, I imagine._

It was time to go get Ivo from his cell.

**-----------------------------------------**

"Listen here: if you don't let us in you're going to be a lot shorter and a lot flatter!"

"Sorry, but no can-do, I made a promise."

"I don't care!"

"b-but I made it from the bottom of my heart!"

"I've heard that one before," Espio grumbled as Amy's screams were starting to wear down Vector.

"Listen, Chris needs to fly us to that big ship that's snooping around the valley. We can't do that unless if you let us into the hangar," she started to explain in concrete terms.

Chris, her reluctant accomplice, had been dragged all the way to Tails' workshop. Cream tagged along, hoping to continue their conversation along the way, but her mousy voice was quickly drowned out by the shouting match.

"I can fly, you know," Silver stated matter-of-factly.

"What?! Why didn't you say anything before we got here?"

"I thought you were trying to run away from the ship."

"Amy Rose never runs from trouble," she stated with pride, "especially when her man's involved."

"And how do you know that he is in trouble?"

"That ship was heading in Sonic's direction, and like you said the old fart is totally obsessed with him."

"He's not the only one," Charmy giggled.

Tails entered in the back of the room. As he held the door open, he did a quick glance to see if the place was empty. No such luck. It was a worst-case scenario: just about everyone was here.

In the months he spent pondering what would become of that seed, Tails considered the possibility of Cosmo not retaining her memories, although that scenario relied on the chaos emeralds "turning back" Cosmo's age. The advanced technology in her possession allowed him to piece together that she must have arrived from the future, presumably after generating from the seed.

Why she was here, he could not grasp. He was still having a hard time accepting that this was what was actually happening. His thoughts were also preoccupied with his obligation to rescue Sonic and he didn't have time to fully enjoy or even comprehend this surprise right now.

At any rate, Cosmo already seemed bewildered from meeting him: it'd be best not to overexcite her by introducing her to everyone at once. Worse yet, he was afraid of giving everyone else a heart attack. He'd have to wait before bringing her in here.

"Thank you," Cosmo nodded as she walked through the door that Tails was holding open; she presumed that it was some display of chivalry.

He froze when she walked past him, and so did everyone else.

Silence.

Amy's hammer clattered on the tile floor.

A few stutters and quivering gasps became audible.

Cream and Amy bolted from their side of the room and snatched up the wispy seedrian into their embrace, streaming tears of joy. The floor shook and the trio was hoisted into the air by Vector, who was blubbering like a baby as he rocked the precious bundle in his arms. Charmy hovered around them in excitement, while Espio simply looked on with the most serene look that anyone had ever seen on his face. Chris stared in awe.

Their celebratory wails and persistent inquisition died down in order to hear her response.

Cosmo was wide-eyed and speechless as she was being crushed in the forest of arms.

"Um… there, there, everyone," she finally mustered the words.

"Ok, ok, settle down," Tails said in a calming voice. "Give her some air and some time to adjust."

Everyone stepped away. They all trusted that Tails knew more than they did when it came to the subject of Cosmo.

Before he could tell them what he had learned about her, an alarm went off.

"What is it?" Chris asked.

"It's my theft-tracker. It lets me know whenever someone is relocating or activating one of my inventions without my approval."

"Is someone in the workshop?"

"…no, the signal's coming from a ways away. It's starting to move towards the shore and… wait, that's roughly where the airship was headed when I last saw it."

"So someone on the airship has one of your inventions?"

"I guess so."

"Well then, that's all the more reason to get over there," Amy chimed in.

"Right. You guys take the X-Tornado. I'll come with; I've got a new prototype plane that I've been wanting to try out."

"That's more like it," Chris said as he patted the golden fox on the back. "Ok, Amy and Silver you're with me."

The others followed them into the hanger where they made their final preparations.

As Tails was ready to close the hatch, Cosmo climbed in behind him.

"What are you doing? You don't have to come with me."

"I know, but I want to. I need to get some air." She said as she cracked a smile.

Cream and the Chaotix watched as the two planes took off.

"Do you think they'll be ok?" Cream asked.

"I think things are finally starting to turn around for old fox boy," Vector said with optimism. "How can anything go wrong when they're just starting to go right?"


	30. Ch 30: Roll Call

**Author's Note: I guess it's spelled "roll call" instead of "role call," as I had initially assumed. Oh well. As a rule of thumb I consider it a no-no to just revive a dead character lickety-split, but Cosmo's kind of a grey area because it was vaguely implied that she could still live at the end of Sonic X (and I'd like to hope that this didn't come off as a "lickity-split" revival). To be clear: I didn't write this story just for the sake of bringing Cosmo back to life: if that had been the case, I would have done it in the opening chapters. I can't get into too much detail about this development because it would spoil future events in the plot. I know that the concept is hardly original in fan fiction (nor is the "amnesia" aspect of it), but I'm hoping to take this in a direction that others haven't. For once I'm going to leave an author's note at the end of this chapter as well.**

Deep within the confines of the Death Egg, in an obscure corner of its many passages, an unwelcome guest was stowed away. She scanned the perimeter and there was no one else to be found, except for her accomplice.

"Nobody seems to be patrolling this area, are you ready to move?"

"I was ready twenty minutes ago," he said with determination. He tried to stand up on both feet, only to quickly limp the nearest object. As he grabbed a hold of a terminal for balanced, he winced as his scraped and raw hands pressed against the cold metal. She quickly wrapped his arm around herself and started to carry him. As expected, he found this demeaning.

"Some job that I'm doing," he grumbled.

"Today you were the smart one, for once. I have to admit, I never would have thought that high-powered drill could break through that diamond shield."

"Well, I do know a few things about digging."

"And we've both had firsthand experience in turning allies against each other, but I never thought the same could be done for the doc's robots."

"By the way: what happened to leaving me for dead so that you could keep the emerald for yourself?"

"You don't have a clue, do you?"

Her usual tease simply rolled off of him.

She decided it was best to change the subject. "I think the new doc's going for a second shot at this. My ears just popped, so I think it's safe to say where we are right now."

She glanced at his cranium, which was featureless sans the snout and the red dreadlocks.

"I don't suppose you've ever had that feeling before?"

He didn't answer.

**----------------------------------------------**

The surface of the Flying Battery had become like a tub of ice cream: every so often a portion of the top layer was carved away by an intervening object.

Throughout his efforts to exterminate the blue pest, Egg Robo had used his magnetic powers to assimilate one of the ship's smaller engines into his own "body". He had also grafted on one of the ship's mine-laying mechanisms, as well as the engine's pilot light igniter, which he used as a makeshift flame thrower. He had gone from a planet of scrap metal to a bulbous torpedo. He used the igniter to melt down the metal fragments to form a fuller and more-easily manipulated shell.

Having grown tired of chasing the hedgehog or trying to ensnare him in a trap, Robo had opted towards bombing the flying battery itself with his reserve of mines, as well as cleaving away sections of the hull with his super-heated, subsonic turbine body. A tactic that would seem like a kamikaze run for any mortal pilot was simply an exercise for him: how many times can I crash and still put myself back together? In truth, he needn't kill the hedgehog: he simply had to buy time until they arrived at their destination. Still, the fact that he managed to down the other one with relative ease made him eager to be two for two.

As he was setting up for the next attack run, he was tossed about by an ordnance blast. His first guess was Shadow, but he could sense two metallic objects in the skies.

The compass on Tails' dashboard was going haywire. It was mostly for show, because he had an insulated digital backup, but this confirmed his suspicions.

"Chris, hang back with this one, he has an invention of mine that controls electromagnetic energies; if you get too close he'll rip you to shreds. My new plane can't be easily magnetized, so let me handle this." he radioed in.

Tails wanted to see how adept this guy was at utilizing the fox's stolen handiwork. He fired another missile, one that he knew the enemy could see coming. As the missile approached its target, it started to veer off course and eventually make a U-turn, heading right back for him. Tails flicked a switch and the missile detonated before it was within range.

As Tails was strafing around the airship, he saw a blot in the sky out of the corner of his eyes. The distant cloud front began to part, and nestled inside was a massive, round metallic hull: the Death Egg was finally airborne.

"It's Robotnik's ship! Tails, you've gotta-" Chris reported before another frequency spliced into the feed.

"In case if you're wondering," Egg Robo's voice crackled amongst the static, "I'm well aware that your friends didn't come as prepared as you did."

Chris's voice resumed before Tails could react: "I'm having some trouble here! I can't control the plane!"

The X-Tornado started into a nosedive and its wings were starting to bend beyond the breaking point. Tails was about to intervene when Silver's voice interrupted: "Don't worry about us, I can handle it." From a distance, Tails could see the backup plane's window pop off and the pale hedgehog leap out. The craft began to steady itself as Silver supported it from bellow.

"Take that thing out, quickly."

Tails' sensors managed to pinpoint exactly where his creation was being stored inside of the metallic mass. It attempted to hurl mines at him, but he shot them down. Tails readied the neutrino gun. When the warm up was complete, he made a clean incision through the rocket's hull.

Egg Robo began to topple to the ground, but Sonic had learned that this wasn't going to be enough. Tired of being left out of the aerial battle, he raced to where the chrome rocket was about to land. A green flicker caught his eye: the emerald. The beam had sliced clean through the robot's thick shell, and Sonic quickly grabbed a hold of the precious stone as the whole contraption smashed into the ground. When he tried to wrestle it free from the attached mechanisms, Egg Robo's armor reconstructed around his arms and held him in place.

From the pool of metal arose two glowing eyes and a primed flamethrower shoved directly in Sonic's face.

"Any last words?" it inquired.

As Sonic tried to free himself, he could feel his finger tips still barely making contact with the gem. He grinned.

"Just two: Chaos Control!"

Egg Robo's eyes flickered for a moment. Neither said anything. The flamethrower's muzzle began to cool and Sonic brandished the emerald in triumph, having freed it from its molten prison. The scorched metallic shell was still: it lacked the power to reshape itself now.

"Are you alright, Chris?" Tails radioed in.

"Yeah, we're fine. What's the scoop?"

"I'm not reading any activity. That must've done it."

"So how did it get a hold of that device, anyway?"

"I don't know. I guess we'll just have to ask Robotnik when we see him. Oh, and by the way it's not a device, it's a fake emerald that I made."

"A fake Chaos Emerald was able to do _that_?"

"Not exactly. You see, Chaos emeralds can control space and time. But I tried to give this fake emerald properties that were more like the Master Emerald, which includes controlling forces like gravity and electromagnetism."

"I didn't know you could do that. Hey, is that Sonic down there?"

Before Sonic could admire the emerald that he had secured, it began to glow. It turned completely white then disintegrated in his hand.

"So it was a fake, then?" Shadow grunted as he nursed the massive bruise on his forehead.

"Yup, all of that effort for a fake."

"I came for the real one, but I can't sense it here anymore."

Sonic turned to the voluminous airborne station that they were rapidly approaching. "The list of places where it could be is very short, I'm guessing."

**-------------------------------------------**

The two doctors stood before the glass chamber. Right on schedule, the green chaos emerald popped into place.

"As you're well aware, it's possible to induce chaos control by artificial means, with no flesh-and-blood user whatsoever."

"I have to commend you for once, Julian. Not many would think to use Chaos control to transport just the emerald itself."

"It's a shame what happened to E-122, but he would've been happy to know that he provided an adequate distraction while the real emerald was sent on its merry way."

This was a change of pace: the two doctors were finally speaking to each other as equals, for the time being. Eggman was free from his cell and not even handcuffed, monitored or accompanied by guards.

"They're wondrous gems, aren't they Ivo? They have the power to write history. Not only that: they can rewrite it."

"How so, Julian?"

"Bokkun isn't the only eavesdropper around here. For starters I see that you're still relying on classical notions of how time travel works."

"And by 'classical', you mean wrong, correct?"

"Yes. Wasn't it obvious? If what you said was true, that history is set in stone and that it's impossible to change the past, I wouldn't have bothered to come here at all, would I?"

"I'm not denying that you can't affect the past, but whatever changes you make are changes that are meant to happen and changes that, in a manner of speaking, have always happened. Any other theory of time travel always results in a time paradox that would destroy the universe. If you can change history from how you remember it, then you'll subsequently lose the incentive to change that history in the first place."

"For the most part you're right, but there's one loophole in that rule. I'm sure you know better than I that the Chaos Emeralds have an annoying habit of disregarding conventional laws of the universe. Ordinary time travel can't change the past, but the emeralds can."

"The emeralds are capable of wondrous things, I agree, but it seems a bit… counterintuitive that they're the _only_ things that can change the past."

"It's getting late and it's almost time to act, so I'll bore you with the specifics of it some other time."

"I'm going to hold you to your word, Julian."

"At any rate, you need to keep in mind that there are many scientific facts that are counterintuitive, Ivo. For thousands of years we all assumed that the Earth was the center of the universe, didn't we? Science is about abandoning our pre-held notions and opening our minds to the possibilities. These pre-held notions don't just include classical scientific theories, but politics and morality as well. That's why I'm doing this: to create a world where the human mind is unbound by rash assumptions and childish fantasies."

"So how does Sonic factor into all of this?"

"You'll learn that when he does."

"You complain about Mephiles keeping you in the dark, but you do the same to me. I think the only reason why you even keep me around is because you need me."

"Again, you're basing your thinking on outdated assumptions, Ivo. I'm under no obligation to keep you alive. Since Blaze used the chaos emeralds to destroy Iblis, history has diverged from its preset path. She prevented the flames of disaster, and as a result that future no longer exists. The only reason why the other time travelers and I are still here is because we were in your world when the change took place and we became part of the fabric of this universe, albeit a chronologically-stranded one. The same goes for Omega, so don't go around thinking you're immortal because history requires you to create him or do anything else, because it doesn't. Anything you do now won't affect my past or his."

Eggman didn't know where to start. "Keep in mind that I'm still not buying this theory of yours, although I will give you the benefit of the doubt for now. If what you're saying is true, then why are you keeping me around?"

"I'm not getting any younger. I may not look a whole lot older than you now, but I'm starting to feel the more stressful years of my life catching up with me. I can't keep this up forever. I came here, in part, to critique your work: to perfect it, essentially."

"Is that why you keep stealing my ideas? Like the Egg Bots, the Death Egg and keeping Shadow dormant in a tube? If there's anything more annoying than plagiarism, it's someone who claims that they're making your ideas 'better.'"

"Now, now, just because a few of your plans didn't work doesn't mean that the component ideas have to be discarded. I have my own vision for the world, but I think that the 'Eggman Empire,' as you call it, would be the perfect vehicle to house my dream. When I create this new world, I want you to take care of my affairs when I no longer can. I want to make you my heir."

Eggman was speechless for a moment, but he managed to compose himself. "It is ironic… I've never heard of a descendant bequeathing something to his ancestor."

"Well, I'm never the type for convention. So, what do you say?"

"It's sudden, but I'm willing to stay onboard and see where this goes. Of course, I'd prefer to establish my empire single-handedly, but I've never been one to turn down a helping hand."

"Ah, the best response that I could've hoped for from a rational mind. I would've had my doubts if you had simply made a kneejerk agreement."

"So, what's the next course of action?"

"The seven emeralds are assembled, so I think it's time we headed home. I'll make sure that your furry friends come along for the ride: they're on their way here right now. We all have much to discuss."

"Why not just leave them here? They'll be stranded."

"True, but think of how much easier it will be to accomplish my goal when our people see their so-called 'heroes' defeated with ease. If we simply leave them here in Mobius, they may find their own method of escape. This way they'll arrive on Earth on my terms. And besides, we can't have our people holding out hope that their heroes may one day return to change things back to the way they were. It'd be best for all of us if we just laid those dreams to rest as swiftly as possible."

**------------------------------------------------**

Vector, Espio and Charmy decided to walk Cream home when it started to get late. Tails and the others wouldn't be returning tonight, they had concluded. On the way, Cream and Charmy mentioned something about seeing the moon and a flying boat disappearing from the sky in a flash of light. Vector and Espio chalked it up to an overactive imagination. Besides, the moon wasn't even supposed to be out at this hour. They delivered her to her mother, only after promising that they'd let them know as soon as Tails got back.

The stage was set for Julian's final act: the minor characters and the comic relief had been harmlessly put away in their cozy abodes, left to live out their lives in that underdeveloped backwater planet. Rouge and Knuckles were stowed away on the Death Egg, wounded and of little consequence to anyone at this point. They were spared from an untimely fate only because he had some degree of tolerance for them compared to the others.

His misguided ancestor was finally starting to come around: a worthy successor in the making. Decoe, Bocoe and Bokkun were harmless, and Omega shut down. Silver, Amy and Chris were holding on for dear life as they passed through the Chaos Control field that enveloped the whole Death Egg and the surrounding areas. The fox and fern were not far behind. His eagerness to see the two of them was eclipsed only by his desire for his incoming prey: the hedgehog. And somewhere, very close by, he imagined, the last major player was preparing for his next move. In some obscure corner, hidden from mortal glances, Mephiles was watching and waiting.

History was no longer set in stone. The future is a blank slate, and they would be the ones to shape it.

**Author's Second Note: I realize that the ending to this season wasn't quite as exciting or action-packed as the last one, but I really had to break it off here or else this season would've been well over 20 chapters in length. Big things will be happening in the next season. It'll probably be shorter than this one. I've got about six chapters for the next season currently written, and I think that's more than what I had done when I ended the first season, so hopefully this hiatus won't be as long. **

**The Egg Robo fight was one of the first ideas that I came up with when I developed this story. I acknowledge that in a way he was just a filler villain to keep things somewhat exciting while all of the players were brought together. If I didn't make it apparent enough, that was Rouge and Knuckles at the beginning of the chapter. I didn't feel like describing their battle with the tunnelbot and the diamond shield thing, so I simply mentioned it in passing. To be clear, it's implied that they defeated the robots by tricking the tunneling robot and the diamond shield robot into destroying each other.**

**This is the longest chapter that I've written for the story so far, I'm pretty sure. The original draft was actually longer, but I cut out about a page of Julian explaining how Chaos Emerald time travel differs from regular time travel (I promise I'll explain it eventually, I've reinserted it into one of the next season's chapters that I've already written). I wasn't satisfied with this chapter when I first wrote it because I already knew what I'd have to rewrite (but it was too late at night for me to start). Trust me, the rough draft for this chapter was absolutely loaded with technical mumbo jumbo, even more-so than it is now.**

**I couldn't find much of an opportunity for Cosmo to really say anything in this chapter, but rest assured that she's still on board (literally).**


	31. Ch 31: Landfall

**Author's Note: Finally, I'm back. Sorry this took so long, I've been very busy. This next saga is the shortest yet, at a scant 11 chapters. These first few chapters are relatively short and they don't have too much going on, but things will get more intense and eventful with each successive chapter, for the most part.**

_From my point of view, this all began when I had successfully restored the first interdimensional portal. The technology had been made illegal for frivolous reasons several decades ago, but these were quickly cast aside at my behest. After arriving on the deserted, permanently-overcast planet, I discovered that its inhabitants were no luckier than ourselves, save for the fact that the creature had finally left their world._

_I made contact with their leaders. In spite of the impoverished and savage nature of the population, the two rulers live an aristocratic lifestyle. I later found out that the secret to their rule is the advice that they receive from an otherworldly presence. _

_Over time, the two rulers became evermore obstructive to humanity's intentions. Their superstitions regarding our technology made them all too eager to restrict our development of the land. On one faithful day, the "presence" approached me and expressed interest in lending its services to me. It told me the best way to go about removing the planet's current leadership: I eagerly accepted without wasting a second thought._

_During the coup, I discovered that the two monarchs had produced an heir in secret. Mephiles, as the presence had named itself, strongly encouraged me to spare this child and leave her on her own for a time. It expressed great interest in her. Years later this same child drifted towards me once more and Mephiles suggested I keep her._

Not too long afterwards I had been commissioned by the provisional government to carry out a risky endeavor: to prevent the Flames of Disaster. Even I had my reservations about this, but I quickly cast them aside as any genuine man of science would. The candidate for this mission was Blaze, the child that I had found. A couple of volunteers also accompanied her. Even at that moment, I knew that this must have been what Mephiles intended all along.

_  
Earlier, when I said "my point of view," when referring to how this all began, keep in mind that this is not how it technically began. From a broader chronology, the first major event to occur that could be attributed to me or my time machine was when the Liaison had arrived via time travel. She left the information that she had scoured in a location that had been disclosed to me by Mephiles. Shortly after, I arrived and began my preparations for the action that I would take on Mobius and Earth. I assumed the identity of one of my ancestors so that the historical records wouldn't foreshadow my presence in this time period until after the change was made. Blaze and the others arrived shortly after I made the first move. Ironically, the ones who entered the machine first (Blaze & co.) arrived at their destination last, and the one who entered the machine last (Cosmo) arrived in this world first._

_I'm writing this memoir merely hours before my plan finally comes to fruition. As I write to you, the future that I came from only exists as a memory. History has been changed, but due to one of the universe's many quirks I've remained intact. My intent for leaving this message isn't so much to instruct a specific person, but rather to offer up my story to anyone who's willing to hear it. I have no doubt that I will achieve my goal, although I may not live to see it. At least this way my story will outlast his, even if we ultimately destroy each other._

**-------------------------------------------------******

After Julian had finished his writing, he went to fetch Ivo. In spite of being granted amnesty, Eggman still found comfort in his cozy cell. It took some prodding, but Ivo was finally stirred from his nap.

"We're going to be arriving soon. I'll make sure that we get into position before the military is alerted to our presence. If you want to get a last look at Station Square as you remembered it, now is the time."

"I'll pass," Eggman yawned. "Good luck with trying to make the Death Egg unnoticeable." He was about to go into a disheveled rant about his descendant's carelessness until he got a better look at him. "You look terrible. Do you sleep on a rock or something?"

The future doctor's appearance had changed considerably. He wasn't quite as plump; his skin had lost its smoothness and was starting to become wrinkly and crusty. The whites of his eyes were now off-white and the bare veins could be easily seen. This didn't seem to bother him at all as he calmly explained: "When I said that my years would be catching up with me, I meant it literally. My age has been accelerated to its 'proper' value. It's an interdimensional anomaly that affects anyone from this universe who travels to Mobius and back. The Thorndyke boy was the first documented case."

"But I've never been affected by this."

"It doesn't affect those from the Mobian universe, although your case is admittedly ambiguous in that respect."

Just when Eggman thought that he could piece together his own origins, another monkey wrench was thrown into the whole affair. The information left behind by Gerald Robotnik suggested that Ivo was born on Earth, but now Julian was implying that he was born on Mobius. This was the one issue in his life that had left him utterly confounded throughout.

"And I don't sleep," Julian added, "in case if you meant that question literally."

Ivo wasn't going to let him get away with such a bald-faced lie. "Yes you do, I've heard your snoring, believe me. We're in a mile-wide aircraft and yet you couldn't put your room any further from mine."

"True, I used to, but I've stopped ever since I started dreaming."

**--------------------------------------------------------**

"What a strange place," Cosmo mused softly, "it isn't natural like your world, and yet it's not barren like the cities back at home, either. I thought such places only existed in dreams…"

When Tails had come to, he was shocked to find where he was. Instead of pursuing the Death Egg or even crash-landing into a mountain, he found that his plane was placed neatly on the top floor of a parking garage.

"Huh? What happened?" He actually seemed disappointed not to be in peril.

As he checked to make sure that Cosmo was alright, the recent events played back in his mind like a lurid dream. He thought that he had imagined it: as they entered the chaos control anomaly that generated from the Death Egg, a "tether" of sorts grappled onto the Flying Battery. As the two planes attempted to land onto the towed airship, it (and the Death Egg to which it was attached) vanished once more.

He tried to make sense of this: a chaos control within a chaos control? Perhaps it was possible to use the chaos emeralds in two separate capacities at once, provided the energies are channeled efficiently enough. First the Death Egg traveled between universes and then it must have traveled locally in this universe, which Tails surmised must be Earth. Apparently he and Chris were only brought along for the first ride. It was also safe to assume that wherever Robotnik was now, he had Sonic all to himself.

"You passed out," Silver addressed Tails' earlier question with little thought. "This was as far as I could get while carrying both planes."

"Where did the other ships go?"

"I didn't see."

Before Tails could become too downtrodden, he remembered. "Cosmo, you still have the radar, right?"

"Yes."

As Tails scrutinized the device, he finally noticed something very off kilter about Chris. He seemed to have been deliberately hiding behind the X-Tornado, and when he finally emerged his fall-time clothes had become skintight shorts. Not to mention that he had become several feet taller.

"Whoa!" Tails gasped as he recoiled into the back of his seat.

"Yeah, yeah," Chris said abashedly. "Coming back to Earth must've changed me back again."

"Right…," Tails said uneasily as he went back to the radar. "It looks like they didn't go very far. They're just outside the city. Let's get going."

"Hold on," Chris objected. "We can't just pick a fight with that thing ourselves; even the Metarex ships were nothing compared to this thing."

"That didn't stop us from sending them packing," Amy reminded him.

"Look, things don't work like that here. When we were in space, or even on your planet, there was plenty of open room to fight. But this is a major city: even a single stray missile could get a lot of people hurt. I think the first thing we should do is warn everyone about what's going on so that they can evacuate. They'll probably send in the military to take that thing down."

"You mean help us take it down," Amy corrected.

"Besides, I could use a change of clothes," Chris said.

They all nodded in agreement with this sentiment, at least.

**------------------------------------------------------------******

After some rather sizable shortcuts, thanks to Cosmo's chaos driver, Chris was in a decent wardrobe and the five youngsters were at the town hall. Helen wasn't at the apartment, which was a relief for Chris, in spite of his worries. They didn't exactly have time for another reunion, and he would've skipped the change of clothes altogether if it weren't for the fact that it would be hard for the words of a towering man-child to be taken seriously by the city officials. Still, his furry entourage would have lent his story some credibility.

After explaining the story in brief to the Mayor's secretary, Chris was about to enter the Mayor's office when someone else stormed past him without even bothering to shut the door behind him.

"Jerome, you weren't scheduled to be here today," The Mayor said with a modicum of surprise.

"Sir, there's an unknown object that appeared just outside of the city," the rash messenger reported as Chris and the others looked on.

The Mayor glanced at Chris and the eavesdropping Mobians, then turned back to the man who had beat them here. "Eggman, I'm guessing? How far away is the object?"

"It's already here!"


	32. Ch 32: Groundwork

**The title of this chapter is sort of a spin off of the title of the last one. I couldn't really think of a more fitting title so I just figured I'd play into the whole "land" idea. I (probably) won't do that again. A lot of these chapters were hard to come up with titles and descriptions for, probably because they're all pieces of a single event and I can only come up with so many ways to describe a single, ongoing event.**

**I'll be introducing a few of Sonic X's human characters throughout, but mostly the minor ones. I was originally going to have Chris's friends from the series show up, but I haven't really thought of anything interesting for them to do and I don't want them to detract from the focus of the story.**

**Like I said, these next couple of chapters are relatively simple compared to what's to come, just be patient.**

As the flying battery was absorbed into the Death Egg's frame, Mephiles pondered the imminent meeting of his subjects.

_It's apparent now, and it has been for some time, that you were indeed the one that I was looking for all along. You meet the qualifications to the letter. Through countless eons I have waited; I doubt that you recall why, but know that I will settle this matter between us._

_The other one has fulfilled our covenant in full. Although he is not beyond the flaws of my previous figureheads, I suppose some temporary reward is in order for his zeal. Pay attention, child of Chaos, because this day will be decided by the details: the details that I have so carefully arranged._

**--------------------------------------------------**

"Why wasn't I informed of this sooner?" The mayor asked no one in particular.

"Well, it all started when I was on my morning walk…" Jerome began.

"I wasn't asking you… but get on with it anyway. Where exactly did you see this object?"

"Everywhere! It's surrounded the entire city!"

"What has?"

"I don't know; it's a giant wall or something. It just appeared in an instant. I heard some people say that it's starting to dig into the ground."

"Is this why you're here, Mr. Thorndyke? I wish that you could have resurfaced under more pleasant circumstances; we were all starting to get worried about you."

"Well, actually…" Chris began. "We were here to warn you about a giant ship nearby."

The Mayor let loose an aggravated sigh. "Alright, I'll send word over to the boys at G.U.N. and have them look into it," he began to mutter: "just when the reconstruction is over with, something else has to go wrong…" He opened the shades and caught first sight of the aforementioned wall. "On second thought, I'm declaring a state of emergency," he said solemnly.

**----------------------------------------------------**

The Flying Battery had long since docked within the Death Egg's bay. The waiting game had begun as Julian was expecting his target to make it through the labyrinth.

"It won't be long now," Julian mused in front of his ancestor. "Before I forget, I wanted you to have this, in case if we don't meet again after this day." He handed a leather-bound journal to his compatriot, seeming to give the book less importance than it demanded.

"Since I may not get another chance to ask," Ivo paused as he slipped the book into his back pocket, "what's so special about Chaos Emerald time travel?"

"Well, it's technically not time travel, but for all intents and purposes it has the same result," Julian began to answer his counterpart. "Using the emeralds' time altering abilities will only allow you to travel to the past, but it's not enough to change history. Even traveling to the past can be accomplished with artificial emeralds, so this alone is hardly a unique feat. Instead, it's the unique spatial properties of the true emeralds that allow them to create alternative histories."

"I'm listening."

"What would you say if I told you that our current universe was less than two days old?"

"I'd say 'goodbye' and walk out the door."

"To some degree that was my response when I first learned of it. You see, changing the past results in a time paradox that destroys the universe, as you said. The problem with classical time travel theories is that they stop at this point and venture no further, but it is beyond this point where the probable truth lies. Chaos emeralds do exactly what we think they can't, provided that someone with the right attributes and opportunity uses them. They force a square peg into a round hole, as it were; they make the impossible happen. The emeralds use their dimensional-altering properties and immense energies to create and destroy universes. If a chaos emerald can't make something happen, such as changing history, it simply destroys the universe and creates a 'copy' universe where history is already changed from the start."

"Wait, wait; that still doesn't explain why you're still here after the future was changed."

"My case isn't as complicated as it seems. When Blaze changed history with the seven emeralds, a 'snapshot' universe replaced our old one, for lack of a better way to explain it. Since I was present when this change occurred, the emeralds unwittingly carried my existential information over to the new universe, in spite of the fact that I'm from a future that no longer exists. My memories of events as they would have occurred were copied exactly as they were, along with me. In other words, from my point of view it seems as if my own past never changed, but indeed it has."

"I'm still not buying this theory of yours. Perhaps it would help to explain why there are multiple universes, but the idea of us all being clones of a dead universe isn't very appealing."

"The proof is rather sound, although it was impossible to fully verify this theory in my time because we lacked the true emeralds to run experiments with. At any rate, try not to simplify ourselves as being 'clones', Ivo. We still have our memories, and they are memories of true events, though they may not be our own. In spite of the fact that the events of my life have been averted, I can still apply the lessons that they've taught me to my future actions. Memories and knowledge are one in the same, and they determine our worth in this world.

We're still naturally aware of who we are, or rather who we're supposed to be. Of course, that would be nothing at all like a certain other 'duplicate' who's recently arisen," Julian ended coyly.

**----------------------------------------------------**

"Hey, I remember you now," Amy addressed the Mayor. "You're the president, aren't you?"

"Well, not anymore," he said humbly, "Mayor typically isn't a job held by former presidents, but even though it doesn't have all the same perks, it's still an important role that serves the people and that's what matters."

"So, did they fire you?" she asked abruptly.

He took some small offense at this question, but answered anyway, "no, I just reached the limit of my term, that's all."

"Lucky you," Jerome muttered.

"Oh I know, you're that guy from the president's party and the fighting tournament, right?" Tails asked Jerome in a chipper tone.

"Yes," Jerome's voice became passive-aggressive, "I was the one who got fired from the President's administration, actually. I believe I have your little blue friend to thank for that."

"So, did you give him his job back, then?" Chris asked the ex-president.

"No, Mr. Wise is now a member of the janitorial staff," there was a hint of amusement in the Mayor's voice.

Mr. Wise left the room after being reminded that he was supposed to have the day off today. Chris and the others followed and went outside to get a better look at the situation. Indeed, the wall seemed to be surrounding the entire city, from what they could tell. It seemed like a fairly straight-forward conclusion, albeit a puzzling one. It looked like a distant mound of mined charcoal on the morning horizon.

A distant pop was heard. A few bystanders pointed upward and everyone's gaze soon followed. There it was: The Death Egg, finally reappeared.

Before the city folk could make any audible conclusions about this sight, an intercom voice preemptively drowned them out.

"This is Dr. Julian Robotnik speaking. No, I'm not Dr. Eggman, as you know him, although he is a relative of mine. Today will be the largest-scaled ethics experiment ever carried out. And you, my proud people, will serve as the test subjects. This message is being patched directly into the military mainframe, because they will also be taking part. My demands are simple: you will hold an emergency session of congress at my behest. In this session, you will repeal every major regulation and restriction that has been placed on scientific research and development. I will forward a list of these laws to repeal shortly. Afterwards, you will hold a constitutional convention and ratify an amendment that will instate me and my hand-picked successors as the dominant legislative authority in the field of science. You can keep the rest of your government, if you wish; it doesn't interest me in the slightest."

"That's…that's what he wants?" Tails was baffled; he was expecting a lot more from such an ambitious and desperate despot.

"If you do not find these terms to be agreeable, here is the alternative: I will destroy Station Square along with everyone currently residing in it. Of course, as I speak I'm sure you're all plotting a way to welsh out on this deal. I've taken precautions to ensure that this will remain an enclosed experiment with only two outcomes. Via chaos control, I've brought in a massive wall that was once stored inside of my ship to seal off the city. By now, this barrier has sunk several meters into the ground, cutting off and sealing any possible underground escape tunnels as well. That just leaves the air. You're free to try to take out my ship, but keep in mind that doing so would cause it to come crashing down on the people bellow: it's more than massive enough to take out the majority of the population, I can assure you. If you attempt to airlift anyone out of the city, I'll bring this thing down myself. You have three hours to inform me of your decision."


	33. Ch 33: Agendas

**Author's Note: One of my concerns in writing this whole part of the story is the characterization of Cosmo. In Sonic X she was a humble, empathetic girl who often took the weight of the world on her shoulders. In earlier drafts I took this idea to a bit of an extreme, and in some ways it still shows now. Although, in some cases, this reaction is fitting given the circumstances; however, I didn't feel satisfied writing her off as a one-note character (as writers shouldn't with their characters). In some ways she had a bit of craftiness and creativity to her which manifested in small ways in the show, in spite of the fact that she was also clumsy and quiet, so hopefully I can incorporate some of that in here in order to avoid having a one-dimensional character.**

"Captain, the troops are almost ready to be deployed. Just give us the word."

"There's been a change of plans."

"Sir?"

"The Major will be leading a hunter squadron that will attempt to infiltrate and redirect the craft. We can't attack with a large force at the moment: it may only aggravate the situation; we don't know anything about this nut-job or whether he's bluffing or not. We need as many transports ready as possible to get those people out of there if things go sour."

"Permission to speak freely?"

"Granted."

"This seems like a suicide mission for the Major. One of the higher-ups must have had an axe to grind when they gave out these orders."

"These aren't orders, son. Command's made contact, but their words are too tentative to qualify as suggestions, let alone orders; they're too worried about their reputations to get their hands dirty, so they're expecting us to do everything. This isn't some simple shoot-em-up operation like it was with Eggman; they're not cut out for a complicated situation."

"But isn't this their responsibility?"

He groaned and dropped his stalwart façade, and spoke as if he were in a confessional. "Yes, it should be, but if they just let us take care of things then that allows them to lay the blame squarely on us if things go wrong." He sighed, "That's politics for you: the small fries always take the fall for the big fish. At any rate, it was the Major who suggested this plan of attack. You'd best get your men together; the hunters are already on their way out, so it's only a matter of time until you're needed."

"Wilco, Captain Westwood."

**-----------------------------------------------**

Ivo was furious. "That's it? That's your big plan? That's what's taken you who-knows-how long to prepare for? All of those resources and planning for this? You could have at least asked them to make you their unquestioned leader!"

"Well, I'd like to think that I'm somewhat of a realist." Julian repaid these concerns with insufficient concern on his own part. "I don't have what it takes to decide every course of action for humanity, even if I more or less know what's going to happen, for a time at least. I'm keeping myself focused on the important things and playing to my strengths. The world needs people like us, but we're a dying breed. If the scientific field is allowed to expand its horizons, other budding scientists can reach their true potential and humanity can finally experience a new golden age."

"But you're thinking way too small; I held an entire planet hostage with an orbital death-ray and you're toying around with a mere city for the sake of political minutia."

"My demands are far more reasonable. Why did it surprise you that you failed? You bit off more than you could chew. Your demands were absolute lunacy; no one in their right mind would make any choice other than to take you out. It was a lose/lose situation. I, on the other hand, will get what I want regardless of what choice they make."

"What do you mean? They're going to give in to your demands, or at least pretend to until they find a way out of the situation. There's no way they would let you destroy the city."

"Giving in would be the logical thing to do, but after all your time away from home I think you've forgotten just how irrational people can be. It wouldn't surprise me at all if this city was wiped out today with their full consent. You see, people can be very vengeful-minded. Many of them wouldn't think twice of risking innocent lives just to spite dissenters like myself. To them, what matters is the principle, but the problem is that they don't know how to pick their battles or look past their own beliefs. If anything contradicts their idea of a free, just or moral society, they'll sacrifice anything and anyone in order to eliminate this discrepancy. They don't like me telling them what to do, or even how to do it, so they'll simply tell themselves something insipid like: 'those people in the city would have been honored to die for freedom' to rationalize this 'moral' outrage that they feel towards me in spite of the obvious danger in doing so. They wouldn't think twice of sending my ship crashing down on those people in order to keep this country to their liking. Above all else, a moral perfectionist is incapable of compromise or reason. What they'll never understand is that I'm the one who's fighting for freedom: for liberation of the human intellect from the moral shackles of this world."

"For the sake of argument let's say that you're correct. If the city is destroyed, and you with it, how does that also give you what you want?"

"A lot of people, in this time period and my own, fit this description of a moral perfectionist. But, there are also a lot of people that don't, even if they aren't aware of it. Unfortunately, it's the former who seem to be in control of everything. If Station Square is destroyed in the name of preserving some intangible principle, just imagine the outrage that the rest of the country will be feeling; not just this country, but the world. When the ashes have settled, my demands will be interpreted and scrutinized, but people will arrive at the conclusion that my proposals were perfectly reasonable: a few small easements in the law and handing scientific authority over to the scientific. My method may have been uncalled for, they'll admit, but what will be more heinous to them is that the perfectionists were content with slaughtering millions just to leave their own beliefs uncompromised. In the end, all that I'm proposing are minor changes, but even these are too much for the perfectionists. Ultimately, they will yield to me or they will strike me down and stain their hands with the blood of millions in the process."

**-------------------------------------------**

"Alright, so what's the plan? How are we gonna get this guy?"

"I don't know, Amy, all we have is one working plane," Chris said, bereft.

"Even if we managed to get inside of that thing, I wouldn't put it past Robotnik to just cut the power and let that thing drop as soon as he saw us," Tails pondered. "We can't just rush in there. We have to think of a plan."

"Um…"

"What is it, Cosmo?" Tails asked tenderly.

"Never mind, it's not important," she brushed the matter aside in a somewhat embarrassed manner.

"You can tell us. If you have an idea we could sure use one."

"Well… I thought maybe we could use the driver to get the people out of the city. That way, we wouldn't have to worry about the ship falling."

Tails' eyebrows peaked with interest as he considered this plan.

She took the silence as a bad sign. "I'm sorry; I should've just stayed focused on how to stop the ship," she muttered.

"No, no," Tails insisted gently, "it's an excellent idea."

"Yeah," Chris agreed, "I think that would be the best way to do it. We're the only ones who can get these people out of the city. We can let Sonic and the military handle the ship; we can help them out as soon as we're done. This will only make their jobs easier."

"We should try to think of a way to get as many people here as possible, so that way we can send them all off at once," Amy chimed in.

Amy, Chris and Silver began to propose ideas of the best way of going about this course of action. Tails planned to join them momentarily.

"Thanks for the great idea, Cosmo; you may have just saved the city."

She shook her head. "No, no, it was just chance that it came to me."

"You don't have to be modest. You're a smart girl and, well, I'm really glad that you decided to come along with me."

Her face became flushed. "No I'm not. I'm just… I'm…"

"You're what?"

"I'm…" Her voice suddenly became mournful. "…nothing."


	34. Ch 34: Reminder

**Author's Note: did anyone else's page views get messed up for the last three days? It says no one read my fic during that period and it wouldn't let me access it until now, even though in all likelihood at least one person must've read it in that time. Oh well.**

**I was originally going to have Tails come up with the evacuation plan, but I think having Cosmo come up with it works better for a number of reasons. First of all, it gives her some immediate usefulness, and I think it suits her imaginative/creative qualities to come up with a plan for a situation that's different from the usual "defeat Eggman" scenarios that the team has dealt with in the past.**

**Things are finally going to start picking up here, and hopefully you'll agree.**

Rouge was at a loss for what to do. In spite of his eagerness, Knuckles was in no condition to go anywhere. Still… she couldn't just leave him here. Before she could give this any further thought, she heard heavy footsteps approaching. She shoved him behind the terminal and told him to keep his trap shut, which was no easy task.

She peered through the space between the terminal and the floor and saw several pairs of feet enter the room. They were all identical, except the pair in the middle: they were human. The fool must have come here personally. This was a choice that he was going to regret. All she had to do was rush him and threaten to break his neck if his robots didn't do what she asked. This was her ticket out of here.

Rouge vaulted over the terminal and flew for the human's head, but was quickly tossed aside and slammed into a wall. The retinue of robots threatened to blast her if she dared to move again.

"Oh come on, you can't be that good at fighting," Rouge pouted.

"Maybe I wasn't when we last met," her intended target replied.

"Wait a minute… Topaz?"

"People call me the Major nowadays," the hardy soldier said as she removed her helmet.

"How'd you get in here?"

"We took the back door."

"By plane?"

"What else would we use?"

"I asked because I have a wounded partner who needs evac."

"Who are you calling wounded?" Knuckles demanded.

"Don't start with this whole 'tough guy' act; you're hurt and you're just going to slow me down," Rouge scolded him.

"I'm not leaving this time. I'll drag my way to the master emerald if I have to."

One of the hunters (a relatively primitive automated soldier designed for combat support and little more) gave the echidna unwanted assistance and reported: "the child's vitals seem less than optimal."

"Child?!" Knuckles could barely contain himself.

"Well, you sure do act like one," Rouge reprimanded him.

"Ok, that's enough," Knuckles growled. "You're all forgetting that without me you can't find the emerald: that's what's powering this thing, and I bet that the old fart isn't too far from it. So, what's it going to be?"

**---------------------------------------------**

"How's it coming along, you two?"

"We almost have it up and running. It took us a while to find it in all of these huge hangars."

"Any sign of Omega?"

"No sir, we couldn't find him anywhere."

"I wonder if perhaps Julian had dismantled him as a precaution."

"It's a safe bet, sir. We'd be lucky to be dismantled if we ever disobeyed you," Decoe chirped.

"Uh oh… uh oh!" Bokkun cried in a panic.

"What is it?"

"Look! Look!" Bokkun pointed to his monitor hookup.

Dr. Eggman gave the tiny TV a stern examination. It was Sonic, and Julian was waiting for him in the next room. The moment had finally come. Now was the time to go through with the backup plan that he had cooked up during his imprisonment.

**--------------------------------------------------**

Sonic wasn't sure why Shadow had insisted on splitting up earlier. He was a little worried that his dark counterpart knew more about the layout of this place than he did and that Shadow simply wanted him to get lost.

To some degree he was worried about Tails and the others, but not to the extent that he felt he should be. What happened back there? Are they still here, just outside the station, or did they get left behind? Everything was so bright and sudden that he couldn't remember. He wasn't even sure who he was trying to keep track of. He saw two planes, so he figured that Tails must be in at least one of them. Everyone else was uncertain; after all, just about everybody had a chance to pilot some type of air or spacecraft during the Metarex campaign.

Sure, he was pondering these questions, but their implications didn't seem to faze him. The only thing that he could do was channel these concerns into drive for his work. All that he could think of was his task: Robotnik needed to be stopped, even if he wasn't sure what the particular reason was this time.

After an uneventful journey that had cost him a night's sleep, he finally came across one room that was different: a cozy study. It was the only room in the entire complex that didn't have chrome-colored fixtures. Instead it had old-fashioned furnishings, more like in the cottages on Mobius.

The fireplace was crackling; a redundant heating system that was merely for show. On the desk were stacks of parchment and hastily-scribbled notes. Half-finished scraps of food and cold mugs rimmed with coffee residue lined its perimeter. Now he understood what this meant: now was the time for the villain to make a speech and then spring some sort of trap. Sonic was ready this time, he wasn't just going to sit back and let someone else do all the talking.

Julian could have easily gone with a less predictable approach, but he was fond of the classics. His appearance was haggard from the effects of the age correction that resulted from his recent interdimensional travels. His face had a leaner, crustier look to it. He was cozy in his armchair, reading a musky notebook.

"Alright, Robotnik, where's Tails and everybody else? What's your game?"

"Mobians…," he recited dully from his old travel journal, "less mass than full-grown humans, but much more durable and athletically developed with no major drawbacks in brain capacity. Phenotypic traits vary wildly. At the expense of these benefits, Mobians require more food-per-pound than humans. Mobians are also less successful at producing offspring and have a shorter lifespan."

"Just what exactly is your problem with us, anyway?" Sonic was only half-interested in the answer.

Julian continued dryly, talking in a distant and ironic manner. "In spite of these obvious genetic drawbacks, most of you live carefree lives. Food is abundant and overpopulation is still a distant concern. Prior to the Metarex, your chief conflicts arose from an eccentric madman whose escapades have yet to inflict a single casualty. With the exception of your little 'adventures,' you've all lived lives devoid of any hardship or meaning. It disgusts me to think that people as spoiled as yourselves exert such a great influence on my culture. What do you have to teach us? You know nothing about real world concerns. A life without struggle is no life at all, and I doubt there's a single meaningful lifetime between the whole lot of you."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Sonic tried to sound uncaring; his tune quickly shifted to one of slight agitation. "As far as I know, it just means that I'm doing my job. And FYI, we never asked anyone's culture to be influenced by us."

"It doesn't work that way, and even if it did you seemed to voice no objections when my people started to worship you."

"People can do whatever they want, as long as they aren't stopping anyone else from doing the same. That's what it means to live free."

"Funny, your human followers must not have been in favor of the 'living' part when I met them. Their recklessness nearly wiped out the human race."

"Then they must've gotten the message wrong."

"They were no different than you; it's the circumstances that were different. In a stable and peaceful world, it's easy to champion ideals and think that there can be a happy ending to every story. But when times get tough, morality isn't so clear-cut. An entire generation was influenced by your presence in this world. At first your 'movement' was just a fad: a form of youthful rebellion, but as time went on and this generation aged, these 'witnesses' to your 'inspiration' became the ones to fill the roles of leadership in my country. Senators, judges, and even a couple of presidents cited you as the dominant influence in their lives."

"Sounds like you're just jealous," Sonic forced a biting chuckle.

"There was a time when I admired some of them, until I saw how they handled the Flames of Disaster. When I first saw this creature in action, I knew that our lives on Earth were over. It was run or die. For them, however, this was unacceptable. They couldn't fathom the thought that we would have to give up our homes. They felt that we were entitled to them. They stood and fought, and they mocked me while I begged them to re-commission the portals that they outlawed years ago."

"When trouble comes, it's usually best if you run toward it, rather than away. Better to face it head on, rather than have it chase after you," he said unflinchingly.

Julian blinked for a couple of seconds in disbelief. Sounding somewhat surprised, he continued: "That's exactly how they sold it to the public, word for word, and everyone ate it up. The flaw with this concept is that it doesn't apply to forces of nature. A typhoon won't stay away from a city just because you shoot at it; an earthquake won't stifle itself if you drop bombs on it. But, of course, when you're idealistic you don't know how to compromise or make exceptions. Iblis's consumption of the Master Emerald produced magnetic fields that rendered automated soldiers and unmanned vehicles useless. The peoples' response? Send in real soldiers: it was like shoveling coal into a furnace. The majority of the casualties weren't from unprovoked attacks or accidents: they came from our own planned assaults. Needless to say, when we were on the brink of extinction, none of these followers of yours were left to voice any objections as I brought humanity's remnant to relative safety."

Sonic pondered this for a time. He managed to reach a tentative conclusion, although he wasn't completely satisfied with it. "Sometimes you can't always win. If someone wants to fight for what they believe in, let them. If others think it's best to leave, let them."

"If only we had that kind of freedom when it came to science," Julian snickered. "Freedom is a great thing to believe in, but many people don't know why they believe in it, and I imagine you're no exception. For them it's an infallible truth, and by extension their own interpretations and misinterpretations of that truth are also seen as infallible. They have faith in their beliefs, and faith, by nature, is irrational. They somehow have this notion that a lack of evidence or justification for their beliefs somehow makes them more genuine: I think religion is to blame for that mentality. Ultimately, those who have faith aren't open to discussion and only very rarely can they be convinced that they're wrong about anything."

"If we didn't have faith in something, our actions would be aimless."

"And that's exactly where the divergence of our opinions lies. Faith is simply an excuse not to think. When you say 'I have faith' in this or that, you're essentially saying 'I'm right no matter what the evidence says'. It's a dangerous line of thinking, because when you have faith in something you shut yourself off from reason and dissenting opinion. Should someone who thinks their moral intuition is God's whim be placed in control of a nuclear arsenal, for example?"

"I'd rather have a few stubborn people than have an entire population that doesn't have faith in anything at all. Some people believe in harmful things, but there are just as many who believe in good."

"The problem with unshakable convictions, whether malevolent or benign, is that they discourage progress. When people become obsessed with right and wrong, time becomes their enemy. To them, as time passes the world becomes more corrupt, and the ancient truths are in turn corrupted or forgotten. And don't try to chalk that up to hyperbole on my part, either: I've known plenty of people and… other beings who would gladly watch the world burn in order to fulfill their apocalyptic fantasies.

For people like me, however, the future is something to look forward to. I seek enlightenment and a more advanced age, rather than yearning for a distant time that we move farther away from. It was never my idea to travel back in time in the first place. When I stumbled upon time travel while tinkering with alternate dimensions and word got out to the public, people left and right begged me to undo the horrors of history. The only thing that made me want to destroy Iblis was the fact that it slowed down human progress with all of the devastation that it caused, but as far as I'm concerned you're far more detrimental in that respect."

Sonic was taken from behind by some sort of feral creature. It was roughly his size, but his bones felt like they were about to shatter when it pinned him down. He shook himself loose and threw it into the desk.

It was a machine covered in syringe-like spines. It took him a while to recognize it. This was because this robot didn't have any eyes for him to make contact with; the doctor had personally made that "redesign" a matter of days ago.

Other than the gap in the top half of its face, Metal Sonic's missing and damaged components had been completely replaced with sharp-looking implements meant for close-range fighting.

"If you weren't so intent on defending your ego and getting a word in edgewise, you could have easily killed me. Oh well, too late now. You know," Julian said in a smart-alecky manner, "when I was a kid I used to watch a lot of action cartoons. I always used to wonder: 'if the antagonist's plan almost worked the first time, why should he abandon it just because of a fluke failure?' Iblis isn't here to interfere this time, so I hope you'll forgive me for this rerun. I'd love to stay and watch, but I'm already starting to see another fluke develop in my plan, and I have to put a stop to it."

"At least Eggman was more original," Sonic added spitefully as he grappled with the monstrosity.

"Oh come now, I'm still the same enemy at heart; I'm just better at playing the role. Besides, as they say: repetition is the foundation of learning, and learning is the foundation of knowledge."

Robotnik made his getaway while the technological terror overpowered the perfectionists' poster boy.

As they wrestled, the doppelganger uttered its first and only words in a malevolent, coarse tone: "Put your mind at ease. I will liberate you from the pain of living soon enough."


	35. Ch 35: Escape

**Author's Note: That last chapter set a new record for page views, thanks guys.**

**In case if you couldn't tell by now, I love writing dialogue for Robotnik (or perhaps monologue would be a more fitting term). At first I was worried about how implausible it would be for Sonic to just sit back and listen, but I remembered that Sonic can be a bit of a talker too (although he's mostly about bragging and taunting his foes). As for Robotnik, his hatred for Sonic has a great deal of irrationality to it: he doesn't really hate Sonic for personal reasons; he views him as an event rather than a person. To Robotnik, Sonic is just one of history's blunders that's in dire need of correcting. In a way it's a form of self-righteousness (even though Robotnik's not a very "righteous" person); it's almost a personal fantasy of his to kill Sonic, like how some people fantasize about preventing wars or assassinating dictators before they come to power. I'm guessing Julian figures that he's going to kill Sonic in the end anyway, so he might as well enjoy it.**

"That's all that I needed to hear."

"You mean… it's time?"

"Yes Bokkun, it's time."

Bokkun was about to pack up his monitor and follow the others as they headed for the door.

"Hold it right there!" a third, metallic voice cried out.

"Speak of the devil," Eggman muttered in semi-disbelief. He turned to see a squad of swatbots holding him at gunpoint.

"You and your machines are to surrender yourselves immediately. Lethal force will be used if you do not comply," a single swatbot recited.

"Machines? Is that what you call your brethren?" Eggman asked gentlemanly. "Well, I guess you're more along the lines of distant cousins. Personally, I prefer the term 'mecha'. Why, just take ol' Bokkun here for example," Eggman said as he patted the tiny bat-bot on the head. "By the way…," Ivo said, barely able to contain his excitement. "There's something that you should know about Bokkun."

Bokkun grinned uncontrollably and nodded at his creator.

"This mecha…"

"…will automatically start going postal now!" Bokkun finished. He kicked his miniature television at the nearest swatbot. The collision set off a detonator inside of the monitor: a surprise that he always held in store for anyone unlucky enough to have him for a messenger. The first swatbot's head was shattered by the blast, and its flung body knocked down its allies. The four members of the Eggman gang rushed over and disabled the robots before they could get back up.

"Remember this day," Ivo smirked as he took one of the swatbot's weapons. "Today is the beginning of the Eggman uprising!"

**----------------------------------------------------**

"Everyone, please proceed in a calm and orderly fashion."

Amy was already growing impatient with the antsy crowd, so she wrestled the microphone away from Chris. "Let me put it this way: if you _don't_ want to be rescued then just keep doing what you're doing."

An innumerable populace swarmed around the Mayor's office: the epicenter of this evacuation effort. The former president expressed approval with this plan (and the opportunity to prove himself a hero), and used the emergency broadcast system to gather the citizens together. The last of the emergency buses dropped of their passengers; some tried in futility to find nearby parking, and simply abandoned their cars where they stood when the crowd became too thick to maneuver through.

Chris didn't dignify Amy with a response as he regained control of the mic. "Let me explain what you all have to do. Remember how the space colony ark vanished in a flash of light when it was about to hit the earth a few years back? Well, that's what we're trying to recreate today. That light was an anomaly called chaos control; try to think of it as teleportation. Since the city's blocked off, we're going to try to teleport everyone outside of the city. All that you need to do is hold hands so that we'll all go together. Imagine yourselves being just outside those walls and you'll be there."

The flesh-colored flood engulfed the base of the nearby building with a battalion of civilians coating the capital building's front steps. Even their quietest of murmurs coalesced into a muffling roar. The people were begrudgingly cooperative; a few of them could be seen wiping their hands off before making any physical contact with their neighbors as instructed.

They had quite a big turnout when they sent out a broadcast saying that Sonic had returned and that he wanted everyone to gather at the Mayor's office for evacuation. Adding the words "be there or die" to the end of the message couldn't have hurt, although Chris disapproved of that last-minute alteration when it was suggested. Chris imagined that there are probably a few stragglers or stubborn shut-ins out there, but the majority of the population had shown up and the longer they waited the more likely it was that Robotnik would notice this swelling of activity. There was no time to waste.

When they were fairly sure that the people had formed a continuous chain, rather than just a few self-contained groups, Chris gave the signal to Amy and the others. The chain led inside the building and it ended with Tails. Apart from him was Cosmo, who clutched the Driver timidly as she gave him a look of doubt.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't think I should be the one doing this," she stammered.

"It's okay, nothing's going to happen."

"I think you should do it."

"Don't be silly. You're the only one who knows how to use that thing. We believe in you."

"But why?" she started to become distressed. "Why is everyone so accepting of me? I haven't done anything to deserve this kindness."

"Yes you have… you just don't know it yet. Besides, I'm the one who didn't deserve the warm reception after chasing you all day." Tails left it at that: he didn't want to have to explain all this right now. The clock was ticking. "Just trust me: you can do this. But don't just trust me; trust yourself."

"I'll try…" she said with uncertainty. "Thank you, Miles."

"Call me Tails," he smiled as he squeezed her hand.

**-------------------------------------------**

Topaz, Rouge and the others approached a massive hangar that, according to their estimates, lied directly in the center of the Death Egg. A pitch-black, crescent-shaped ship with a blimpish nose protruding from the front was suspended from the ceiling with numerous wires attached to the surrounding walls.

It had a less pristine look than the rest of the building: the ship's outer shell looked like a patchwork of hastily-measured tiles. The wires attached to it were like arteries.

Topaz spotted Dr. Eggman standing outside of the ship, having a heated exchange that was unintelligible at this distance. She signaled her hunters to move closer and cautioned her Mobian companions to stay back.

Unbeknownst to her, this is how the distant argument was unfolding:

"Isn't it ironic, Ivo? You call yourself the Eggman, and yet it's my invention here that actually seems reminiscent of an egg. The Death Egg merely served as a hollow shell for what you see here: the 'yolk', the core."

"Looks like a piece of scrap metal to me. Come on out, Julian, or else we'll blast you out."

"In my time we weren't too concerned with prettying up our inventions. As long as it got the job done, we were content. Within this carrier plane are technological marvels that not even the Metarex could have dreamed of. I had almost considered limiting myself to your level of technology when I decided to travel back in time, but why should I abstain from what is rightfully mine to use?"

"Hold it right there, Eggman!" Topaz said as she was finally within range.

Ivo and his three tin tots jumped behind cover as the hunters opened fire. Topaz thought she had this in the bag, until she noticed that her hunters were being picked off by a squad of gray, humanoid robots that were flanking them. She returned fire, but soon realized that she was the only member of her squad left.

As she was being overwhelmed, the swatbots were tossed about by something that ambushed them from above. The toppled robots were turned into shrapnel by a well-placed grenade before their bodies even managed to hit the ground. As the smoke obscured this new battle, the sounds of a massacre could be heard.

Omega drove his talons through his opponent's metal torso, and put a few bullets into it for good measure. There was another coming from behind, perhaps trying to deactivate him like before. He crunched the sneaky bot's skull between his fingers for this presumptuous effort. When the dust cleared, he was the only combat-worthy machine left standing. Topaz readied her gun.

"Don't shoot, don't shoot!" Eggman shouted. "Especially if you're planning on shooting me!"

Before another shout could be exchanged, a loud bang made everyone drop to the ground instinctively. It turned out that this sound had come from the carrier slamming against the hangar wall.

Knuckles had somehow managed to stand. He inhaled deeply, and then made a flowing, pushing motion with his hands. The ship slammed into the wall again in synchronization with this movement. He could sense that the master emerald was aboard that vessel: he wasn't going to let a false guardian get away with it, so he used the emerald's magnetic properties to his advantage: for a time, at least.

Aware of this interference, Julian directed one of the aircraft's turrets at the troublesome echidna. Omega leapt in the way of this onslaught, but not before at least a couple of bullets made their mark. His midsection punctured, Knuckles writhed on the ground as he abandoned his previous effort.

The "yolk" ship rocked back and forth in its arterial web for a few moments, before the floor bellow it gaped open. The craft swept through the hole with a hummingbird's level of efficacy.

Rouge rushed to where the crumpled aftermath lay. "He's pretty torn up," she panted with no trace of her usual repartee. "We've got to get him out of here."

"Give him to me," Topaz said. "I've got an extra seat in my jet; I can evacuate him."

"If that's the case," Eggman approached with unfounded confidence, "you'd better take Omega with you."

Omega, who was remarkably unharmed from the barrage of bullets that he received head-on, affirmed his creator's plan.

Topaz and Omega ran off with Knuckles in tow. Rouge would follow them in a moment.

"What are you doing here, anyway?"

"This is where I live," Eggman said with some contempt for his escaped captor, "but not willingly, mind you. At any rate, the boys and I are celebrating our moving out." He signaled for Rouge's exit when he turned to addressed his lightweight soldiers. "Get your fill of this place while you can, as soon as we board the prototype we're taking this fight to the streets."

**-----------------------------------------------------**

Omega went ahead to make sure that the coast was clear.

"In return for doing this, I expect you to do something for me," Topaz made clear as she was patching up Knuckles.

Rouge was about to say something, when Topaz interrupted her: "And don't try to get off by saying that he owes me the favor instead of you. I'm the only one who can get him out of here, but I'm not the only one who can complete my mission. I want you to find what's controlling this ship and move it away from the people bellow. We've got a battalion of transports ready for evac at a moment's notice and they're counting on someone to get the job done, and it looks like it'll have to be you."

"You know me a little too well, I think," Rouge mused, "but alright. I suppose if I have to do a favor for someone, it might as well be for you."


	36. Ch 36: The Matter at Hand

**Author's Note: For those of you who never watched Sonic X, there've been quite a few cameos in these last few chapters. I mostly dragged in the human Sonic X characters for these chapters because I didn't want to have too many unnamed humans featured because I want to keep the story focused on existing characters (hence the "no fan characters" rule that I made, even though background characters are kinda exempt from that rule).**

**As was explained, I've featured the (former) president and his former aid, Jerome Wise. When Jerome was fired for conspiring with Eggman to capture Sonic, he made various cameo appearances throughout the series: one as a garbage man, the other as a down-on-his-luck fighter in the Sonic Battle tournament.**

**Also featured was Topaz: Rouge's partner after she was blackmailed into joining GUN. Captain Westwood was a minor character from the Sonic X comics (ok, technically not the show). There was speculation that Westwood was the same person as Topaz's unnamed superior officer in the show, but a cameo's a cameo. Would you believe that virtually all of my information on Sonic X (outside of the Metarex saga) stems from Wikipedia articles and the "Sonic X Uncensored" website?**

**P.S. These next few chapters are going to be fairly long. I probably could've broken them up to get more chapters out of it, but I didn't feel like it.**

The cold steel wall was far behind them. A flat, barren prairie with some distant highways was all that they could see on the perimeter. Straight ahead was another metropolis: one more peaceful and less obstructed by present circumstances. It was Central City that they were looking at: the sister city of Station Square. Prior to this day, it seemed probable that within two decades the twin cities would expand their boarders until they met, having the potential to form the largest urban center in human history. Unfortunately, today's events would delay that milestone indefinitely.

They couldn't teleport directly to Central City because they were worried that some people would get caught inside of solid objects: they required a relatively barren destination. At first glance, it seemed like their plan had worked. But it was quickly discovered that something was amiss.

"Where's the rest? That can't be all of them." Chris looked around to no avail.

"Oh no…" Cosmo gasped as she buried her head in her hands.

"Relax, relax. It wasn't your fault. We must've run out of fuel." Tails tried to pry the driver open to have the look. When he unscrewed the cap of the driver's storage compartment, he was sprayed with a fine red powder. After he wiped most of it off of his face, he peered inside. "No, there still seems to be quite a bit in here. I don't get it; why did we only manage to bring about a tenth of the people with us?"

"Maybe there's a limit to the number of people you can transport at once," Chris suggested.

"But wouldn't that just be limited by the amount of fuel we have? Judging by how much is still left in here, surely we had more than enough to get everyone else."

"It's possible that the device has a built-in limit."

"Well, if that's the case we're just going to have to make trips. I don't want to try tampering with it because if it breaks then we're without a paddle."

When the two eggheads concluded their discussion, Chris called the others to attention: "Amy and Silver, stay here and protect the people that we've got so far. Central City is only about a mile from here, it shouldn't take long to get there. The three of us will go back for the rest. If you're in danger, just run and don't wait up for us."

And with that the three of them returned to the hospital: Chris was to organize the crowds, Cosmo to perform the teleportation, and Tails to provide her with support that she so desperately lacked.

They made a handful of trips back and forth, taking about fifteen minutes to get each group into place. Eventually the majority of the population had been evacuated, but among the remainder were the sick and inured held up at the local hospital. The architects of this evacuation realized that it wouldn't be practical to transport them in bulk as-is.

"These people are on life support, we can't just send them to the middle of nowhere," one of the doctors explained.

"If only we had some kind of generator." Chris paced back and forth. "What about the driver?"

"I don't want to risk it," Tails replied, "If we hooked the driver up to another device it could cause a surge in the equipment. But… what about the planes?"

"We can't airlift anyone out, remember?"

"No, I mean we hook them up to my plane's motor. If it has enough energy to power a neutrino gun, it should be able to support at least a few people. I'll teleport the plane with them and stay put until help arrives."

It was a short matter of retrieving Tails' plane. The X-Tornado's engine was shot from the fight with Egg Robo, so there was no point in bringing it along.

"It'll take a while for me to get everything hooked up," Tails grunted as he fiddled with the interior mechanisms. "In the meantime we should get the rest of the able-bodied out of here. Can you do that for me, Cosmo?"

"I think so."

And with surprisingly little delay she was off with the rest of the stragglers, for once going without Tails by her side. All that she needed to boost her spirits was a quick glass of water.

As the two-tailed fox worked vigorously to get everything set up, the door slammed open and foot soldiers swarmed in to secure the area. Chris was relieved to see that the military must have finally gotten a handle on things, but when he looked closer he realized that these soldiers weren't made to the specifications of the military's synthetic soldier sentries, or "hunters," as they were commonly referred. These were more human in proportion and less top-heavy, but their heads were mere domes with a single, flat red eye on the front.

"Has it only been just three days since we last saw each other, Miles?" a voice rang out from the halls. "Oh, how things have changed so suddenly."

**--------------------------------------------------**

Of his list of battles that he'd never wish to fight again, this one was close to the top. He had nothing in his favor this time: there'd be no Iblis or transformation to end the fight for him. Indeed, the emeralds where nowhere to be seen. Metal Sonic was every bit as strong now as he was in his golden form, but he was far less patient this time.

After narrowly escaping a headlock that could've crushed his skull, Sonic found himself pinned to a wall with a jagged blade nearing his face.

Just then the metallic jackal was thrown across the room with smoke coming from a fresh wound its forehead: Shadow had entered the fray.

"I had a hunch that you'd be here," a voice echoed from the rafters. Rouge and Omega descended to cover Shadow on the flank.

"This ship is going to destroy the city," Rouge informed the two hedgehogs.

The Chaos emeralds are on the bridge, I know," Shadow plainly replied.

"Then stop wasting time and get over there, both of you," Rouge told them off.

"I'm staying here. I'd recognize that heap of trash no matter how many times he's rebuilt," the dark hedgehog pointed at the spiky, toppled automaton, "he's the one that the doctor sent to collect me after the Metarex wars. Besides, he's more cut out for that job" Shadow said bluntly as he glanced at Sonic.

Metal Sonic began to stir once more and gauge its newfound threats.

Sonic's impulse was to help them, but he realized that Shadow must have chosen him to go because he would get there the quickest. If that's indeed the case, then there must be a lot more going on then he initially surmised. With a heavy heart, he left the dark hedgehog's team so that he could fulfill their request.

**----------------------------------------------------------**

"So, where is she?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"That blasted fern, the liaison, where is she? Where's this 'Cosmo'?" He then recalled what the tykes had probably been up to. "Be on your guard," he cautioned his swatbots.

Everyone else in the hospital started to huddle together.

"What are you afraid of?" Robotnik asked in earnest, "I'm just all talk, remember? At any rate, I feel that I owe one of you an apology." He glanced at the fox boy. When he was ready to speak again, he quickly turned to Chris. "I'm afraid that I spoke out of turn when I last saw you, Christopher. I was speaking merely from my own personal bias. I felt scorned because you had 'taken' an idea from my family, but since then I've remembered that claims to ownership are merely an inhibitor of scientific progress. Corporations place patents on medications, but do nothing to refine or improve them because no one else is permitted to pose a competitive threat to them. I've always opposed such greed and stunted development, and I shouldn't have acted any different when it was my ancestor's theory that was being adapted to other uses."

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Chris asked with irritation.

"I suppose I should say a bit more than that. How could I have forgotten? I suppose part of the reason for my outburst was the spite that I held for my mother's side of the family: we Thorndykes tend to stick together and depend on each other, and naturally this clashed with the rugged and individualistic nature of my paternal Robotnik heritage."

"'We'? You mean you and me are…"

"Related, who would've thought? Being a child of two families of science would explain how I've made it this far. Naturally, I never felt quite as strong a resonance with you and your grandfather: you're both pre-packaged, run-of-the-mill scientists compared to the more exotic tapestry of the Robotnik family line. And, unfortunately, your famed good deeds did little to tip the scales in my favor whenever my last name was uttered. But still, what's a dispute among relatives?

You might be angered by my actions today, but they will only serve to benefit you and everyone else in the long run. You know this, and don't try to tell me otherwise. You have firsthand experience of the scientific regulations and bureaucracy that have been laid at your feet. If it weren't for your desire to overcome these needless restrictions, you would have never walked into that portal in the first place."

"What does that have to do with any of this?"

"You think your little hero is fighting for freedom, but his vision of it is diluted. I'm the true freedom fighter. How can we be free if we can't even use the fruits of our minds for ourselves? Our foundation is firm, but we're being challenged by unproven morality. You want to travel to another world; they say 'we believe that it is not within your best interest to do so'. People die every year due to disease that could've been cured if it weren't for the illegalization of partial-cloning and stem cell research. Even when diseases have been cured, many people are still killed by them as they wait for these cures to be approved by a committee. Not even the direst of circumstances can provide an exception to their ritualistic testing; all in the name of some general notion of safety that they've failed to fully rationalize."

Chris didn't respond, partially because he hadn't given too much thought to these sorts of matters before, but mostly because he couldn't figure out how this was at all relevant to their current situation.

"Still not convinced? You've seen what this clash of methods has wrought before. There was once a man who wanted to unlock the secret of immortality. The state said 'we do not believe that mankind should possess eternal life; humanity has to know its place as a subservient species to the divine. We cannot hope nor attempt to rise above our designated state'. You know what happened, don't you? The military slaughtered the children aboard the Ark who were hoping for a chance at life. Two of my ancestors died as a result of ideological meddling, and your gloomy hedgehog friend will never be the same."

No sooner had he said this that Cosmo materialized in front of him, done with the previous group and willing to prepare for the next. The doctor clasped her wrist and plucked the driver from her hand, holding it a safe height from her reach. Chris and Tails instinctively tried to come to her aid, but were halted as the swatbots moved in and readied their weapons.

"Lecture's over; that's all you'll get from me. Please escort Mr. Thorndyke out of the building, but be careful, he's an asset to science, you know." His sentries obeyed and ushered the young man out of the doctor's sight. The troublesome girl hadn't left his side, and the boy was beginning to show signs of panic. This look morphed into determination and spite when the two geniuses eyed each other.

Robotnik held up the driver and admired his own handiwork. "It's amazing what a little emerald dust can do. It's of such fine quality and high energy-density that a few specks are all it takes to get you where you need to go. Oh yes, I know what you've been up to. The possibility slipped my mind in the preliminary stages of planning, but I've since made a correction for it. In a way, I owe you my thanks: the people are now stuck in the outskirts of the city, with no shelter to protect them. This way, if I do bring the Death Egg down, the results can be seen out in the open. Also, the fact that the people can run away now does add a greater sense of urgency to the situation, doesn't it? As I speak, the Death Egg has already teleported to their new location by using the real emeralds. In the mean time, I feel we should discuss a recent revelation."

"You were wrong before," Tails vented. He didn't want him to get his foot in the door on this issue. "You're wrong and that's all that there is to it. Just let her go; this farce isn't going to prove anything and there's no need to drag her into this."

"Oh, she got 'into this' willingly. In many ways, she's the one who set this all into motion, albeit unintentionally. Although, barring even that deduction, it certainly wasn't I who wrangled her in. She's actually been quite a help to me." He began to address her now. "I'm the one that you were hired to help. All of that hard work that you did? It was all for me. I assume you have a high opinion of your master, but know that this was all so that he could pay me back for a debt that he owed."

"What are you talking about?" Tails asked.

"You can ask her, but let's be honest with ourselves here: you won't. Did you even stop to question why she's even here or why she doesn't remember? No, such questions are dangerous to ask, even if they're unequaled in their pertinence. Just as how the religiously pious tap-dance around the contradictions, fallacies and cruelty of their outdated mythologies, you've put the matter out of your mind because you don't want to risk tampering with this supposed miracle: you're afraid that it's too good to be true and that any amount of scrutiny will reveal that fact. Here's something you may not have thought of: perhaps she should explain why she felt it necessary to steal your home movies and send them to me. She must not have cared too much for your private moments if she was so willing to put them on display."

"You're lying!"

"If it makes a difference, that artificial master emerald was one of my own: it just had a long shelf-life and it happened to be one that you made yourself."

"Stop making up stories, it isn't going to help! You think that's going to-" Tails immediately stopped when he heard Cosmo sobbing.

"No… he's telling the truth" she confessed. "I thought that's why you were chasing after me. I followed you afterwards because I owed you a debt. I'm so sorry Tails."

"I don't care about that," Tails' voice softened in an attempt to calm her. "I could never be mad at you. It's just… nothing, it's nothing."

"What you're trying to say," Robotnik began, "is that you'd think being in your shop and seeing your old ship would stir up her memories? In other words, what's bothering you is that she still doesn't claim to remember you. You were hoping that you could simply solve this problem with some kind of déjà vu trigger, I'm guessing. And really, that's why I came here, besides getting my driver back."

"I don't need your help."

"I'm not here to help, or rather I'm not offering what you would currently define as help, but as I've said, I'd like to think that what I do today will help you in the long run. You're a brilliant child, Miles; it'd be a shame to see that potential go to waste, which could very well happen if you continue down your current path.

You know," Julian continued in a deflated and mocking manner, "I really can't stand her type: meek, talentless, unquestioning, dependant. She's the perfect foot-soldier for the perfectionists. She was thrust into the role of martyr in the heat of the moment in a half-rate display of drama that could've come from the desk of any two-bit hack. The very idea that she could possibly still be alive is an affront to the human spirit; it's utterly inane to think that someone will come back just because we want them to. So many people gone forever, and I'm expected to believe that this little nothing gets a free ticket? That girl is a parasite; she'll only drag you down."

Tails stifled himself as he was about to lunge at the old man. "Don't you say another word about her," he said in a stiff and begrudgingly reserved tone.

Robotnik dropped his cynical and piercing manner of speaking, and instead switched over to his pleasing, yet patronizing pattern. "Oh come now Miles." He walked up behind Cosmo and knelt beside her. His joints cracked as his knees bent. He put one hand on her shoulder, and with the other grabbed her across the jaw and squeezed her cheeks as he directed her face towards the boy. "You don't care about what's on the outside, do you?"

Tails could barely contain himself.

"No…," Robotnik started to sound chilling and sinister. "What matters to you is what's… in here…" he placed an open palm on her red broach. She squirmed away from him while uttering a terrified yelp and clutching her hands at her chest. Her pupils contracted to dots and she gave him a hodgepodge expression consisting of fear, confusion and an unexplained feeling of shame.

The Doctor was puzzled for a moment but then he recalled how easy it was for his relatively bulky hand to reach unintended places on such a small creature.

"Relax, I didn't mean _that_," would have been the next words out of his mouth, if Tails hadn't sped over and punched him the groin before he could finish that thought.

The doctor let out a sputtering wheeze as the air was knocked out of him. He stumbled away from the two and ordered his robots to hold their fire. "Fine, if you're going to be impatient about this I'll just keep it short. Sentient beings are defined by their impulses and senses; these things cannot exist without a brain. All that you managed to recover was a seed, but no one is aware of what exactly the biological contents of that seed were."

"What difference does that make?"

"Your feelings are blinding you. You have morals, don't you? Of course you do. She's more than just a line of DNA, isn't she? What if she isn't the original Cosmo? If that seed couldn't carry over cognitive functions, sensory information or memories (conscious or otherwise), which I doubt it could, then it wouldn't really be the same girl that was there before. Surely, if given time to think about it, you would agree with this sentiment, no? In that case, is it fair to make her conform to a certain lifestyle just for your own emotional gratification? Being the sole survivor of genocide is hardly an appealing existence. You could play it safe and keep your distance, but I suppose then you'd be breaking her heart if she is the real thing."

Tails was completely at a loss. He was furious, terrified, confused, worrisome and just plain tired of all this. It was too much to absorb, too much happening in such a short period. He just wanted to go somewhere safe and quiet to think all of this through. He could barely breathe; he had to get out, to remove himself from the situation.

"I wouldn't exactly call myself an anti-moralist," Robotnik said humbly, "I just want to put morality in its proper place. It's unknowable. There are no clear cut right and wrong choices, it's just intuition and conflicting priorities. This unproven field, although intriguing, should have no prominent role in a world of science. This case is a prime example of that fact: you have no way to prove that she's what you want her to be, even if you can trace her origins to that seed. At the same time, you can't entirely rule it out, either."

As the bulky scientist limped out of the building, he looked back at the two children with a twinge of pity. "Here, I don't need these anymore," he stated without a trace of his analytical or smug nature as he slid a stack of cased discs across the hard floor: the missing security footage from the Blue Typhoon. "It wouldn't be much of a moral dilemma if you only had the means to carry out one of the choices, right? Brainwash her if you want, but I hope you'll make the right choice."

The Swatbots started to shuffle out of the room after their master.

There was only one thing that Tails intended to do now: hold out. He was trying to keep himself composed until the very last machine left the room. He didn't have any further plans: his mind had been road-blocked. As soon as the room was empty, he loosened the spigots a little. He turned away from her as tears started to stream down his face. His breathing was stammered to a series of quick, shivering inhales from his mouth as he started to get choked up. The phlegm could be heard jostling around inside his snout. He didn't let out any sort of audible cry, but he felt that doing so would probably be more dignified than this messy sniveling.

He cursed himself for acting like the victim. Here it was at last: the crash, the rug pulled from under his feet.

_Idiot! How could you have been stupid enough to think that this would work out?_He wanted to hate Robotnik at first, but his inner self was in perfect agreement with him. He initially felt spite at the doctor for bringing this whole issue up in the first place, as if keeping the matter buried would have changed the nature of whatever travesties that he was originally planning to commit by forcing her into this role.

_You moron, he stopped you from making a big mistake. Don't be mad just because you're ignorant. He prevented you from ruining her life, you ungrateful little wretch._

_But what if she wants to be with me?_

Why would she? You're nothing but a dreamer and a freak with a brain defect. Even if, by some slim chance, she even had any feelings for you, what she doesn't know now won't hurt her. How much can two kids like each other, anyway? You're not worth the pain of remembering her past. You're nothing. Dry those tears; the sympathy parade is over. Don't even think about crying to the others about this: they've already grown sick of you. Just take those needy, selfish and pathetically melodramatic 'feelings' of yours and cram them down your stinking gullet. I told you to stop crying! I don't care if it hurts, you're lucky to have it this good. Do you know how many people out there dream about seeing their loved ones alive again? You should feel blessed that you've gotten this close: it's more than you deserve.

"Are you ok? Is there something I can do to help?" she asked as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm fine."

"Tails… what was it that you two were talking about earlier? I don't understand what this is all about."

"Never you mind that. Dr. Robotnik is just a crazy old man who likes to make up stories. That's all it was, just a story."

_…a story that ended a long time ago._


	37. Ch 37: Upset

**Author's Note: I'm currently writing a short spinoff of this story. You won't need to read it in order to understand the plot of this story and vice-versa, but it ties into the later parts of the plot. I was originally going to have it be a part of this story, but it was just too much plot to cram into one chapter and it detracted from the overall focus. I currently have it pegged to be about six chapters long, but progress is very slow: I'm working with a fresh cast of characters and most of them are of the underdeveloped, "blank slate" variety (like Eggman Nega was), so it's hard to get a feel for whether I'm writing them properly or not.**

Julian, his task completed, intended to meet back up with the Death Egg but was distracted by a distant thumping sound. As he began boarding his craft, the pulse began to increase and the far-off beats grew more intense. Idle cars in the street whined in response to the disturbance, being rocked about by the patterned vibrations.

At the immediate intersection in front of him, a couple of cars and chunks of asphalt were tossed into the air. Closely following them was a crimson juggernaut that screeched to a halt as it slid into view.

Its height was matched by the stouter buildings neighboring it, although it had a junky and incomplete look. Its armor plating was spotty and it looked skeletal, save for the paunch around its midsection and its bulbous cranium.

"For someone who claims to be my superior, you sure stuck your neck out pretty far with this errand of yours," the colossus emanated in a guttural, loud-speaker voice. "The problem with your plan, as I see it, is that if any part of it goes wrong, then the whole thing goes wrong. You haven't given yourself much leeway for mistakes, Julian."

"How can you criticize my plan when you haven't seen all of it yet?" This was his response through a cleaner speaker system.

"Perhaps I was a bit rash. How about instead I test your scheduling flexibility by pushing it to its limits?"

"En garde!" Bokkun added via patching in his own microphone channel.

"Don't think that my fondness for your company or my familial ties will cloud my judgment, Ivo." He addressed his flight crew: "deal with them."

**-----------------------------------------------------**

At last, the energy nexus of the Death Egg. His sense of urgency quelled most of his disappointment. This was everything that he was hoping for, but nothing more than that: there was no patrol, no hidden passageway or any apparent security system. He hated situations like this: there's no way that this could be all that there was to it.

There they were: the seven chaos emeralds in a humble casing connected to the main power grid. Given the seemingly lax and unguarded surroundings and how obvious this trap was, he was almost expecting the case to have an unlocked latch on it.

Since the trap would undoubtedly spring as soon as he grabbed the emeralds (or what appeared to be the emeralds), he resolved to grab them as fast as he possibly could and high-tail it out there. That way, he could probably slip past any cage, laser grid or weapons system that would become active as soon as the emeralds were removed. He was aware that those may not be the real emeralds, but he didn't have time for a more careful method of discovering what the trap was.

He got a running start. The case was just up ahead. It was beside him, and just as quickly it was behind him. The seven emeralds were nestled in his arms and he was out the door before the shards of glass even touched the ground.

Nothing.

He could feel the true emeralds' power in his hands. A relieved sigh.

After a short time, he began to feel unsteady and dazed. He stumbled and fell; the crystals clattered across the floor. A neurotoxin? Poisoning? No, this was affecting all of the nearby objects: they were sliding about as well.

"Primary power infrastructure disabled. Secondary infrastructure not responding; crash landing imminent," a flat, automated message declared.

_I've gotta get Shadow and the others out of here._

Just as he was thinking that, all of the monitors and terminals in the room broadcasted the same image: an incomprehensibly large swarm of people condensed in a relatively barren environment. Hundreds of thousands, millions of people in all varieties, yet each one indistinguishable from the next in the midst of this massive swarm. Their pace was at a crawl. Overlaying this live feed were the flashing words: "Anticipated Landing Zone."

In his haste, he had damaged the emeralds' power casing beyond repair or any further use: it was impossible to put them back now. The trap had been sprung, but the last thing that Sonic expected was that it would be sprung on someone else.

**----------------------------------------------------**

_The landscape seems so deserted now as I look out the window. Streets and homes that were once bustling with activity, now motionless as the skies grow dark and mistiness starts to set in. I hope that some comfort will reach the people who are now trapped out there. I ask that at least a few infants not cry, that the children don't fear, the grownups don't worry and our friends stay safe. But most of all, I ask for the strength to help him. Has he felt the same pain I have? I know I shouldn't judge, but if I had to guess… Anyway, someone so patient and forgiving shouldn't be made to feel this way; at least that's what I think. Whatever the case, thy will be done._

"Tails, what should we do?"

"I… I don't know. There's nothing I can do. I-I just need to think."

There was a long pause.

"I'm sorry," she sighed.

"For what?"

"I let that man take the driver away; I just stood by as he was hurting you."

"I'm fine. He wasn't hurting me; if anything I was hurting him."

She shook her head. "No, I know that feeling too well. He was hurting you. You don't have to hide it."

"You're the one that he was angry with. Didn't anything he said bother you?"

"I've gotten used to those sorts of things. I should've paid more attention to how you were being affected. I haven't been of any help."

"You don't have to apologize to me, you've done nothing wrong. I don't like to hear you beat yourself up like that, you know. Besides, this was all my fault. I should've sent everyone to a more distant location. I just settled on the outskirts out of convenience."

"Well… I don't like it when you blame yourself, either."

"But it's true. I've just made everything worse." His ongoing self-defamation suddenly hit a crescendo: "It was my fake emerald that almost got everyone killed, it was my hesitation that got us split up from Sonic, it was my laziness that put everyone out in the open and it was my meddling that got you dragged into this."

"I don't believe that. Even if it were all true, it wouldn't matter to me."

"How can you say that?" He plopped himself onto the ground, buried his head in his knees and arms and said, muffled: "I've doomed the entire city."

"Why do you keep blaming yourself for what that man has done? I'm the liar, I'm the thief. I've been nothing but a burden to you, and only I can be blamed for this."

"That isn't true; you could never be a burden to me, never."

"Why do you blame yourself for things that aren't your fault, but not me for things that are mine? I don't see any sense in it."

"Guys, guys!" Chris burst in. "There's something going on outside. Eggman's here and he's picking a fight with Robotnik."

**-----------------------------------------------**

Ivo needed to be humbled; it was long past the point of indulging his fantasies of uncontested dominion of the world. To some degree Julian had just been leading him on in this respect: he chose his words wisely when he was around his predecessor, taking care to give the impression that his goal involved conquering the world without actually committing to it. It was the sin of omission, basically.

The battle was on. Julian certainly had the advantage in maneuverability, but his prior attempt to flee was thwarted by the raw speed of Ivo's contraption (and a few homing missiles to compensate for the vehicle's lack of control). Eventually the two war machines would simply joust each other with their arsenals of missiles and bombs, only to turn around and get back into position for the next round.

The Yolk ship's armor was just a patchwork, whipped up in a short amount of time, but in a display of bravado Julian decided to fight Ivo head on, rather than relying on cunning or aerial acrobatics. Even with the shoddy framework, the alloys in this craft must surely be sturdier than whatever that tin can is made of. What better way to put Ivo in his place than to defeat him in a controlled fight with as few outside factors as possible? Although the conditions of their duel hadn't been specified aloud, Ivo seemed to comprehend the parameters of it as he pivoted to face his enemy yet another time.

Julian spiraled into a barrel roll, the features of his ship blurred into something akin of a hornet's stinger. Ivo prepped his usual salvo and cut loose. As the air around them popped and crackled with amber orbs igniting, Julian emerged relatively unscathed while Ivo's machine began a downturn towards the ground. His molten avatar stumbled to regain its footing after landing: the engines that once gave it flight were shot. As he turned around he expected at least a brief reprieve to plan his next course of action, but Julian had already caught up to him and wasn't wasting time with frivolous expectations.

He considered letting his successor-to-be get off easy, but such a half-baked defeat would likely only inspire future feelings of rebellion. Ivo needed to have a close call: he needed to have the fear of death put back into him. Even if he was overestimating his ancestor's survivability, Julian figured it would at least serve as an example to any other potential successors who would consider acting out of turn.

As Julian had his weapons primed, an artificial shriek emanated from the hull of his ship, followed by a rapid succession of explosions. He veered upward with all of his strength when he noticed that an unhealthy portion of his engines had been brought offline.

Tails regained a small amount of confidence with this lucky and impeccably-timed shot. The Neutrino gun was an experimental weapon with no electronic means of assisting its aim, so he had previously relegated it to slicing through larger targets at close range. He managed to successfully lead his shot on the unswerving, speeding hornet at little more than a moment's notice. The Yolk ship had been dealt a mortal blow, and even though it didn't change the words that were exchanged between them, Tails took at least a little pleasure in putting Robotnik on the ropes for once.

"Oh my," Cosmo gasped, having insisted upon coming along once again. It was a much tougher sell for Tails this time, but she insisted that she had a great desire to watch over him and ensure that no harm came to him, specifically from himself.

Julian considered using the chaos driver, but it didn't have the capacity to transport his entire craft at once, and he'd rather not leave his ride behind unless in the event of an emergency. Besides, fleeing would only get their hopes up. Even though he could probably take the Master Emerald along with him, he didn't want to risk losing what he had worked so hard to prepare, beneath this rush-job of a ship.

Eggman didn't let this time go to waste: he readied the titan for its ultimate attack while his foe was distracted by the foxy newcomer. The robot's head ascended from its socket, and its torso split open to reveal a large but delicate-looking glass orb.

"So you prefer bullets and bombs, eh Julian? That's too bad, because I had something special cooked up for you."

Bokkun, unable to stand the suspense, screamed with delight. A gargantuan beam of light, meters in width, emitted from the glass orb and decimated the left half of Julian's craft, covering the right in flames and smoke. The Yolk ship unceremoniously plowed into the ground in an abrupt manner suggesting that there was no living pilot to control it. The wreckage of the ship erupted in flames, its pieces splattered over the empty streets.

"Congratulations, sir," Bocoe commended.

"I'm guessing that he's out of the will, then?" Decoe asked half-jokingly.

"Enough," Eggman reprimanded them. "One shouldn't take pleasure in having to bury a family member… although in this case I guess it would be a cremation."

These words seemed to jinx the situation: the remains of Julian's ship began to stir. Ivo didn't show much concern: he was relieved, if anything. This changed as soon as a violent blast scattered the remaining shreds of the ship in a torrent of shrapnel. The very little bits of the ship that remained were lifted and cast aside by an invisible force. A bright orb flickered in and out of existence for the briefest of instances.

Now, standing in place of the wrecked ship was a second titan, albeit one of smaller stature. Unlike the red hulk that Ivo was piloting, this machine had an ornate and polished exterior. No, that's an understatement: its outer appearance was impeccable, with nary a scratch or scorch mark from the preceding incident.

It possessed the black and yellow color scheme that had become synonymous with its operator. It was a beatified idol, a hoodless pharaoh, a Greek god with the standard Robotnik paunch and mustache thrown in. The armor plating was that of a knight's (although its elemental makeup was far beyond the means of an ancient warrior, of course), save for the lack of a helmet. The hands were three-fingered pincer claws that formed stout drills when clenched. On the machine's back were two large engines with glider wings attached. Various sizes and varieties of wheels, treads, engines and hydraulics were crammed into the feet for the sake of versatile locomotion. As was typical of Julian's creations, this avatar was sleeker, more organic and more intimidating than Ivo's.

Moving with a speed that such a massive object should not possess, Julian was already up in Ivo's face. Before he could even utter an order to his copilots, Ivo's mechanical legs were cut out from under him and his craft's torso was cleaved in two. From the outside, the fight resembled a spry child tearing apart a flimsy mannequin. In panic, Ivo ejected the robot's head, in which he and his henchmen were residing, and coasted towards his getaway. Now all that remained were Julian and Miles.

The boy didn't simply gawk and watch during this time: he charged the cannon for another round. Robotnik made no attempt to evade. As the beam struck, that bright orb that appeared earlier shone once again. After it faded, the molten god was as pristine as it was before. Tails concluded that the doctor was using a shield generator.

Julian was at a loss. Appearances to the contrary, he had made a large mistake. His own safety was not in danger in even the slightest, nor was his mission, but he realized now that he would have to give up something that he wanted in order for his plans to succeed. His conundrum now wasn't a lack of power or safety, but rather an excess of it. He hoped that the yolk ship would have lasted longer than it did: its weapon systems were far tamer than what could be found in this beauty. This machine was designed to fry much larger fish than Miles and Ivo. He did not possess a single weapon in his current arsenal that could take down the boy's plane non-lethally. For the first time in many years, Julian felt a twinge of regret and guilt.

He could let him go, but that could serve to jeopardize everything he had put into place. The kid was no amateur: his weapon was perfect for countering the Master Emerald's magnetic abilities, although it would take several more shots to accomplish this end. Julian was doubtful that he could succeed without the use of his shield: as a matter of fact, his plan hinged on it. Without a shield, this advanced creation was just another hunk of junk for Sonic to scrap.

Prepping one of his block-busting missiles, he gave the boy a final salute in a deflated and contemplative manner:

_I'm sorry that I couldn't save you, Miles. _

The end of the shaft ignited as it was jettisoned from its slot.

_Even if Ivo hadn't gone rogue, he wouldn't have outlived me by a whole lot. _

The destructive minnow sped on its merry way toward its target.

_Realistically, a longer-term successor would have been in order. _

The boy took notice of the incoming object.

_I was going to recommend that he choose you to continue our work as the administrators of scientific law. _

He pushed the throttle to its limits…

_You could've been the best of us. The factors were perfect: a keen intellect from birth, an ever-dissociating relationship with the hedgehog, and last but not least a healthy dose of the real world at a young age. _

…but, of course, how could his meager craft outrun a missile in a straight course?

_I owe everything to you. It was your inventions, your writings, your legacy that convinced me that a gifted mind could still thrive in an intellectual wasteland. _

The nimble craft cut through the girders of a building that was in the early stages of construction.

_I didn't learn everything that there was to know about you from mere security footage. I read your work: we were alike… because I made myself like you. You made me what I am, and I wanted to return the favor._

The pursuing rocket collided with one of the innumerable steel bars…

_In your later years, you finally managed to see past society's façade, as I have. Your dying wish was that you had been made aware of this sooner. You were at war with yourself, and I fought on the side of the mature realist, rather than the naïve dreamer. This was your will, not mine. _

…it didn't explode.

_The real tragedy is that you were spoiled by that conniving 'spirit.' _

It simply bounced off the structure and continued its course after getting a hold of its bearings.

_Oh well, I'm sure that Christopher still has some potential. He'll be getting a fair taste of the real world when I do away with his beloved hero._

This weapon could not be tricked: it was designed to destroy its target and its target alone.

_It's a shame that you couldn't accept that one simple fact…_

He didn't know what to do now; he was helpless. There it was again, that feeling.

…_very few people can, but it's a reality that we all must face._

He shrank in his seat. A wealth of negative annotations came rushing to him. He took every insult, every malignant trait that he could think of and quickly tried to think of how he embodied each and every one.

_There is no revival, no rebirth. There's no immortal soul or afterlife. There are no myths or miracles. There is no God._

He knew what was about to happen to him: to them. Everything, every last ounce of hope that resided in him previously had now deserted him.

…_and that accursed, overblown idea is the worst of all. Hope? Just wishful thinking with no rationale or hard work to back it up. We all like to hope, but it's not enough. _

He turned around once more, but not to check how close the missile was. He looked into her eyes: she was fearful, but more for his sake than her own. If it weren't for cutting her life short, this would have been the perfect ending. He wanted this to be the last thing that he saw. He barely managed to smile, and she did the same.

_All that we have is this little planet and the little people on it. What we all must realize is that all things will come to an end, and sooner than we think. We just have to enjoy the moment and make it last._

The missile was within a meter of their craft. It was too late now. It was too late a minute ago. It was too late today and too late in the weeks that preceded. He was too late to get any enjoyment out of life ever since he pulled the trigger. Finally he accepted the futility of his efforts, and gave in.


	38. Ch 38: The Battle for Freedom

**Author's Note: Writing progress has slowed to a trickle since my last mention of it. I still only have one chapter of the spinoff written. I'm currently in the brain-storming phase of development. It didn't take me too long to brainstorm this recent batch of chapters because I already did my brainstorming in advance and I knew how this was going to play out (it just took me a while to write it because of delays), but it takes time to outline what is essentially a brand new story. The spinoff shouldn't take too long once I get going, but keep in mind that it will probably be a while before I add anything to this story outside of the remaining 3 chapters. I'm not sure if I'll continue this or just write a sequel, because what I have in store is radically different from what I currently have. This is mostly because the "sequel" focuses on different characters because a couple of main characters have their storylines effectively "concluded" in this plot arc.**

On second thought, this didn't seem like such a bad trap. He knew what he had to do, he just wasn't sure if he was strong enough to do it. Every time he attempted this before, Shadow had always interrupted him and done it himself. This would be the first time he'd try to transport an object that was miles in diameter. Having all of the emeralds boosted his confidence a little, but even Shadow struggled to accomplish such feats even when all of the emeralds were present. He decided to dismiss these little doubts and just get on with it.

**------------------------------------------------**

Eggman and the tin tots took shelter in the nearest building. The three underlings trembled as they kept an eye out on the outside world's happenings. Eggman shouted orders into a half-working communicator.

"What's going up there, Omega?"

"E-121 has been taken care of. We're encountering some resistance from the local security forces," Omega replied calmly as gunshots rang out in the background.

The doctor's first impulse was to tell the tin can to hurry up, but for once he realized that such an order wouldn't really help the situation. Besides, he was reluctant to get on Omega's bad side: he couldn't be completely sure that it was solely his own programming that dictated Omega's behavior, and if he lost Omega's loyalty, there'd be no foreseeable way out of this situation.

Besides, as far as he knew, Omega was still accompanying a tired Rouge, a crippled Knuckles and a preoccupied soldier.

"Well, just keep doing what you're doing," Eggman said with little conviction. "Contact me once you've disposed of the threat. I'll have further orders for you then."

**-----------------------------------------------------**

Chris rushed out the door when he heard the dull roar of a jet in front of the hospital. To his disappointment, it was one of the military's aircraft coming in for a landing.

"Is this place evacuated yet? I've got someone wounded," a voice cried over the engines.

"No, we're still operational. Do you need any help getting him out?"

"Just grab his legs: I don't want to drag him."

Chris was shocked to see the once mighty guardian reduced to little more than a moaning cadaver. His plump hands and feet were scraped and punctured, and his midsection was wrapped in gauze and tape. It was a little beyond the point to ask him if he was ok.

Still, Chris felt that he should at least say something. "What's going on out there? How are things being handled?"

Topaz grunted as she heaved the echidna onto a stretcher and passed him off to the remaining doctors. "We're still keeping our distance. I've been out of the loop for a while, but last I checked the higher-ups are afraid of setting off this nut job. They should be sending in an evacuation force to round up everyone who's still in the city, seeing as how he left. I still don't know how everyone got outside of the city in the first place, or how the ship followed them so quickly."

"Well, I suppose you have us to thank for the former," Chris admitted nervously. "It wasn't until after we got everyone out that the Death Egg started to follow them. But anyway, if you knew that everyone left then why did you come here?"

"I was going to try to make my way back to base, but I saw another plane get shot down over the city, so I tried to land as soon as possible when I noticed that there was a hospital right here."

"Another plane? What other plane?"

"It looked like some kind of experimental craft, or maybe it was one of the enemy's. It was small and agile, too small to be a manned ship. Its wings were in an X pattern, like something out of a sci-fi flick."

"W-Where did you see it land?"

"It plowed into a building a few blocks over. Someone here must have a competent anti-aircraft setup, and like I said I didn't want to take my chances by staying in the air any longer than needed."

Chris was dismayed, but he shoved his current thoughts aside. He wouldn't accept it. He couldn't. "Give me one of your ambulances, there are two plane wrecked survivors out there that need pickup!," he demanded of the hospital staff.

"Look kid, there's no way anything could have survived that crash, I saw it myself. There's nothing we can do for them."

"We don't know that," he said with desperation, "all that we know is that there's nothing we can do standing here. You said yourself that your commanders aren't doing anything, so why not go somewhere where maybe you can make a difference?"

She sighed in aggravation. "Fine, I'll go along, no need to get all passionate about it. But don't expect to see much."

As the two loaded into the ambulance, he chanted to himself. _They are alive. They have to be alive. There's no way that they can't be. If there's a God in heaven, then those two are alive._

**--------------------------------------------------------------**

"What are you doing? Run, you idiot!" Amy shouted as everyone around them fled.

"No, I'm the only one who can stop this thing!" Silver shot off in response.

Everyone was scattering, knocking each other over and stumbling as the monolithic, rusty discus started its slow descent from the sky. Amy tried to talk some sense into him, but by the time she finished her sentence she realized that it was too late for either of them to escape the impact. They were more or less underneath the exact center of the Death Egg.

Silver tried to release his anxieties. He entered a firm and stout stance, while trying to breathe calmly. Even though he could sense his psychokinetic energy bouncing off of the ship's hull harmlessly, he continued with the impossible effort. He let the stream of his inner strength come rushing out, as if it had been levied for centuries.

He immediately felt the wear and tear of his efforts. His limbs quickly went from a state of tightness to soreness to an incomprehensible mix of numbness and dagger-sharp pain. The only thing that assured him that he was still alive was the fact that he could still feel the pain.

The Death Egg's sinking didn't seem to slow down in the slightest. If anything, it got faster. He probably wouldn't have been able to tackle this task when he had the power of the stones, but what does one need trinkets for, anyway? He thought of Blaze. All those times when he put in 100% of his effort, and yet this was the first instance that truly called for it (and more). He wondered if she'd find it amusing that it was only after her passing that this situation should arise.

The nerves in his feet contracted, clenching down on the surrounding soft tissue. It felt like his hamstrings were being slowly plucked from his calves. His legs began to tremble in their weariness. His sides stung and his spine felt compacted. Violent spasms went about inside his stick biceps. Each of his fingers were about to snap like twigs. The markings on his bracelets began to glow a bright aqua. He could only see it out of the corner of his gaze: he feared that even moving his eyes would disrupt his concentration.

A loud creek reverberated through the horizon.

It stopped. Some people looked up in disbelief to see the object of their imminent destruction hesitating, but they didn't let this hinder their efforts to flee.

He had already done the impossible, now he simply had to endure. He was surrounded in darkness by the ship's shadow. In the distance he saw a few specks escape the shadow and run into a bright evergreen.

He ignored the cries of his body and simply counted how many of moving dots had not yet made it to the other side. It must've been at least several thousand. This was just what he could see in front of him. His brain tried to tell him that the others, whom he couldn't see, may not have even been moving at this speed. He imagined the slowest, most unfortunate and panicked person that he could, and tried to imagine how long it would take such a person to make it to safety. He couldn't hold it for that long, he concluded. He shouldn't even be holding it at all.

In an instant, this all went away. His eyelids forced themselves shut as the sun's light inexplicably became visible once more. The massive shell vanished, and now all of his efforts were being directed at the naked air. He quit his effort as soon as he became aware of this, but even the brief period where he was still focusing his energy at nothing caused the winds surge upward, lifting everything around him nearly a foot off the ground. His back crashed on the arid plains, and as he lay there he concluded that a miracle must have occurred.

**------------------------------------------------------------**

Sonic, aglow with the energy of the seven emeralds, considered going back for Shadow and Rouge, but his eye had caught a dogfight over the city as he was teleporting the Death Egg. For their sake, he left the station in the shallow part of the bay. It would only take him a second to check on this, he told himself.

Chaos control brought him to roughly the area where he saw the aerial battle minutes ago. A few smoldering buildings here and there, but there was not a soul to be found. In the middle of one of the street's intersections lay the twisted heap of a walking mech. He surmised that whoever this fight involved, Robotnik must not have come out on top. Thankful for this revelation, he eased himself a little and lost a great deal of his urgency. This left him wide open.

As he should have expected, Julian took this as his time to strike. For one of the few instances in his life, Sonic had been taken by surprise by an enemy. Julian's machine, while incomparable with the upper limits of Sonic's speed, was just able to break the sound barrier and overtake its enemy without a telltale sound. A circular gap opened in the robot's magnetic shield and one of its paws came forth. It grasped the golden hedgehog in its three-fingered claw and began to squeeze the life out of him. Sonic fought back momentarily until he remembered that an upfront display of power wasn't playing to his strengths. Instead, he simply teleported out of the machine's grip and plowed into its backside.

He met with a great deal of resistance in his foe's shell, and even in his heightened state of durability he felt winded by this strike. When the glare from the robot's casing faded, he was shocked to find his target without a scratch. The faded green light which surrounded the machine flared up once more, this time expanding. The force field smacked him in the face with an unprecedented compulsion, and sent him through the central storey of the nearest building.

"I'm afraid this mech isn't as soft as what you're used to dealing with," it spoke to him.

"I was hoping for a challenge, and a chance to get back to you," he retorted.

"It'd be generous to say that Ivo's star shield qualifies as a precursor to this wondrous device, and that outdated apparatus managed to give you a concussion, if I recall. With an energy conversion efficiency that surpasses even the Blue Typhoon, I have turned the Master Emerald itself into my own personal energy shield."

Sonic tried to interrupt his speech with a sneak attack, but the jade shield merely rippled as he was deflected from it. Robotnik began to charge and Sonic retaliated in kind. As they were about to collide head-on, Sonic appeared underneath the monstrous mech and sent it soaring into the sky. As it reached the apex of its height, he reappeared behind the dreadnaught and slammed it into a downward plunge. He held on to ensure that it couldn't try to change direction in midair. When the two bodies collided with the earth, the smaller one smashed face first into the uncompromising barrier. The empty skies were filled with a palpable thud.

For Julian's juggernaut, it was a different story. The energy shield left a round imprint in the streets some meters deep. Inside the vehicle, Julian's face was pressed against the gel-insulated padding of his control pod. The pod itself was a self-contained construct within the hull of the machine, and it relayed its information wirelessly. The pod was held in place by a magnetic field, and surrounded by a grid of hollow, breakaway support structures. The force of each impact on the external construct would be imparted internally with the bending and breaking of these crumple zones, and the Master Emerald's magnetic energy would re-center the pod and rebuild the support structures after each crash.

In summation, whatever damage that was rendered to the robot was made moot by the Master Emerald's ability to rearrange and repair its internal mechanisms, whereas Sonic's cranium was rather sore from this strike and it would be for the remainder of the battle. The almighty emerald did not yield to this attempt, and it only did the golden warrior more harm than good.

Sonic considered changing his strategy, but he realized that the problem was that he hadn't been adhering to it strictly enough. Even though he was attacking from unexpected angles, he was still trying to circumvent the shield with brute force. Using the power of the emeralds as a glorified cudgel was not suiting to their style or his. He devised a plan that would remove the shield as a factor.

"Chaos control!"

He was staring face to face with Julian's avatar, only this time he was inside of the spherical shield. He had noticed earlier a sizable gap between the barrier and its wielder. He gave a smug grin before he moved in to kick the robot's teeth out. As his foot made contact, he suddenly became disoriented and was bounced about the inside of the energy shield like a pinball. The shield' bright light flashed again, but as he squinted he noticed something: a second layer to the shield, this one formed exactly to the contours of the machine's armor plating.

This wasn't so much disheartening as it was nonsensical: if he has a shield that fits the robot's frame exactly, then why bother with a round, redundant external shield that doesn't? If having two layers makes for a stronger shield, why not just have them both trace the outline of the robot?

"Gotcha," Julian said aloud as he pulled a crinkled piece of paper from his pocket and read from it.

An indescribable feeling overcame Sonic… but it was a familiar one. It felt as if something inside of him was yanked out. His fur returned to its dull shade of blue and the seven emeralds appeared around him. He was now trapped between the two shields with no method of escape. His extinguished state left him incapable of flight, so he skidded down the interior surface of the secondary shield, giving him an unpleasant stinging sensation as his back was scraped against the searing barrier.

He thought of trying to seize the emeralds again, but they remained suspended near the robot's head as he plummeted. Not willing to give up, he quickly got back up and tried to run up the interior of the sphere, but his pace became gummed up as the soles of his shoes started to melt into a tarry paste. His struggles were finally put to an end when he was plucked by one of the machine's pincers. His feet were forcibly pressed together and the melted material caused them to stick; the tips of the claws pinched him at the waist while his upper body dangled aimlessly just outside the vice grip.

Once he was sure that the hedgehog wasn't going anywhere, Julian lowered the outer shield. The Chaos Emeralds began to spin about his avatar's head like a halo. The rainbow ring suddenly shot upward and the seven pieces scattered across the skies. There would be no surprise transformations this time, and no lucky save from Iblis, either. He raised the machine's clenched claw as high as he could.

"Look at the skies and tell me what you see," Julian's voice emanated.

Having no other recourse, Sonic squinted in the direction that Robotnik's automaton was facing. The dark blot that he spotted on the horizon chilled him to the core.

**--------------------------------------------------**

Silver was sprawled out on the ground, his heart about to spring forth from his chest and the rest of his body feeling sore and spongy. Amy knelt by his side and kept an eye on how he was doing. She tried to keep a conversation going with him just to make sure that he didn't lose consciousness.

"I know I haven't been the most helpful to you guys," he wheezed.

"No, I'm the one who should apologize," she said comfortingly, "I've just been so caught up with Tails and Robotnik that, to be honest, I kinda forgot about you. I think we all did, but that doesn't make it right."

"Don't worry about it; I'm not really an attention seeker."

"But we owe it to you. You've given more for this fight than any of us have."

"Remember," he coughed weakly, "it was Sonic that did this. He was on that ship when we last saw him, and only he could have made it vanish."

"Maybe," she admitted, "but if it weren't for you he may not have done it in time."

"Maybe…" he closed his eyes for a moment.

In the distance, the military's transport ships were coming in for a landing and the masses eagerly chased their shadows across the plains. Each craft had at least twice its capacity in passengers flocking around it when it landed. Suddenly the ships that were still in midair froze.

"Oh no…" She let out a horrified gasp.

Silver awoke to see darkness once more. There, impossibly, it was. The Death Egg once again hovered over them, exactly where it had been before.


	39. Ch 39: Powerless

"We're going live in 10."

She made some last-second adjustments to her pantsuit, straightened out her hair and focused her eyes on the teleprompter. Scarlet Garcia had long given up her days as a field reporter once she secured an anchor position at the local station. In spite of these dire events, Ms. Garcia felt grateful for a chance to relive her more active news days when Eggman attacked the city almost daily.

"5, 4, 3…"

"There's been a breaking development in the Station Square hostage crisis. The mysterious aircraft known as 'The Death Egg' has once again reappeared outside the city limits. Eye witness claims state that the ship vanished mere minutes ago as it began to plummet, prompting the military to begin a proper evacuation of the population stranded in the outskirts of the city. Just as the first transports touched down, the hostile craft appeared once more, and issued a reminder that any attempts to airlift citizens will result in a kamikaze attack. Many observers were baffled by this sudden reappearance. A tip sent in by renowned scientist Charles Thorndyke explains that these disappearances are the result of dimensional fluctuations, such as the one that prevented the space colony Ark from colliding with the Earth some 9 years ago.

As this crisis has progressed, Congress has called an emergency session. As of now, the instigator's demand for a constitutional convention has passed in the house and the senate and is awaiting the president's approval. The rest of the proposed legislation is still under deliberation in the house. It's currently not known how quickly this convention will be carried out, or what the likelihood is of the proposed amendment passing. If the military is unable to find a speedy solution and if Robotnik keeps true to his word, this incident may carry on throughout the week."

Julian watched as the news feed was patched into the internal monitors in his control pod. He figured that the movement for convention would pass: it was a noncommittal concession. The coming hours would lay out the course for his plan, but he knew that it would succeed either way. In the meantime, he had a pest to dispose of.

**-------------------------------------------------**

She was woozy when she stirred. The water had all rushed to her head: she was upside-down. After unbuckling herself, she crawled out from under the wreckage. She had quite a few bruises, but nothing too serious. Then again, not too many injuries were ever serious for her in the long term. The master used to joke that she would recover so often from injuries because Death found her little, insignificant soul unappealing. At least, she assumed that it was a joke: it was always hard to understand the master.

She tried to stir him from his harness. She called his name and tried shaking him. Nothing. With a press of a button he toppled lifelessly to the ground and she dragged him from underneath the overturned plane. They were surrounded by flames and rubble. The air was muddled with dense plumes of ash.

She cradled him in her arms. Recalling some basic information that she was told once, she tilted his head back, pinched his nose shut and breathed into his mouth. There was no reaction, but she kept at it, unsure of what else she could do. She thought to herself: _I'm sorry Tails._

_"For what?"_ At least, that's what she imagined he would ask if he were awake.

_For everything. This has all gone so wrong._

"_It's not your fault."_

_But it always is. I… I can't remember exactly what it was that I did wrong this time, but I know that it's the only explanation. I was indebted to you for the offenses I committed, but I've only been a burden._

She recalled the lasting words that he had spoken to her. _"...you could never be a burden to me, never."_

Wait, maybe those weren't the ones she was trying to think of. She knew he had said those words, but some others came to mind: "_Cosmo, you never caused me any problems. I've always been happy to help you." _She couldn't recall exactly when he said this to her, but she specifically remembered that he was the one who said it.

He was a rather strange boy, even if he was timid and simple at first glance. Something about him was familiar. It wasn't Miles Prower, the famous inventor, which inspired these recollections, but it was the boy that she now knew as Tails. She couldn't understand how it was possible for someone to lavish such kindness on someone such as herself. Like her, he had a keen awareness of the plights of others, while trying to hide his own feelings. It seemed blasphemous to think it, but his empathy and patience seemed to surpass even the master's.

The master was the only one who paid her any attention in her short life, but it didn't come without expectations. Even the best of her efforts were met with criticism, or a call to repent for undue pride if no immediate fault could be found. The divine order was animal, plant, mineral. Her value was only slightly above dirt, the master would remind her whenever she became too satisfied with her own attempts at exhibiting signs of virtue.

She snapped herself out of these old memories when she remembered the situation. The air in this room was far too dirty for the likes of him, and her breath probably wasn't fragrant enough for him, either. She glanced outside and saw the plummeting heights. At each window and knocked-down wall was a high-reaching tower of flame at least a foot thick, which made it a bit difficult to see through. She knew what her only option was, but she was terrified of it. It wasn't just the risk involved, but the fact that Tail's life was in her incapable hands.

This was a job for someone strong and determined. She was weak and cowardly. Could she ever be strong and determined? No, such confident fantasies were sinful. Wait…that…that doesn't make sense. Surely there could be no greater offense than to let this pure child burn to death in this building.

…_I've always been happy to help you._

She couldn't make sense of the boy. She committed offenses against him and was in his debt, but he never held her to it: he even thought of her presence as a pleasure. She would've done the same for him, but… how can a boy so similar to her be so appealing when she's anything but? The contradiction just couldn't be worked out.

"It makes you happy to see me content," she spoke to him softly as she took a break from breathing, "and it makes you unhappy to see me humble myself. For you, then, I'll believe in myself."

She lifted him off the ground with less trouble than she had predicted. Bulky arms were said to be a trait of lower organisms, but she was thankful for them now. Even her dainty legs felt exulted at the surprising ease of this task. She eyed the broken wall that they had crashed through and the fiery drapes that covered it. She closed her eyes and charged through.

**---------------------------------------------------------**

_The Death Egg? But… but that's impossible… There's nothing powering it!_

"Do you finally understand?" Julian began gently. "Do you see now just how precluded this struggle of yours is? The Chaos Emeralds," he paused in a scoffing manner, "you thought that I still needed them, right? The truth is, I never even intended to collect them all a second time. That was a last-minute addition to my plan when I was unable to kill you the first time around. Fortunately, Mephiles foresaw how problematic it would be for me if you managed to get a hold of them too soon, so he sent a Liaison to inform me of their whereabouts before you could get to them. This whole phase of the plan was improvised, with the exception of my demands and holding the city ransom. This wasn't some flawless master plan: it was a rush job and you couldn't even foil it. And as for the question that must be nagging at you right about now…

After I first gathered the Chaos Emeralds, which occurred about as soon as you scattered them in space, I put them through their paces in the Death Egg's generators. The emeralds are a renewable energy source, so I'd simply suck them dry of their energy, store it, wait for them to recharge and do it all over again. In just a few short months I built up a lifetime supply of power. Sure, this dormant chaos energy can't do everything that the emeralds themselves can do, but it was enough to cross over into this universe and teleport the Death Egg to my heart's content. The stored energy was a tertiary power supply for the Death Egg, after the master emerald and chaos emeralds. I made sure that this backup power supply wouldn't activate until I gave the word, which is why it seemed like the station had lost all power when you removed the emeralds. I needed to give you an urgent incentive to enter your super form: it's your ace in the hole and I wanted to make sure that you didn't try to surprise me with it like last time. Plus, there was always the chance that you'd unwittingly cause the death of millions by removing the emeralds and drop off the face of the Earth from guilt, but I wasn't counting on it. Regardless, your miracle of the day has now expired, leaving you helpless."

To commemorate the occasion, Julian began to swat the dangling hedgehog against the nearby buildings. When Sonic tried to guard his face with his arms, Julian merely spun the robot's wrist joint like a turbine, disorienting the little critter.

Something caught the doctor's attention. Down the street, he saw a distant ember descending from one of the burning estates. It floated gracefully in the air, in spite of the fact that it was just as large as the more robust rubble that came crashing down. It was only a curious sight until his pod's sensory relay focused on it more clearly. He grinned. "Perfect. Today's luck is proving more fruitful than I could have imagined." It would do the hedgehog good to see this spectacle up close.

Sonic felt nauseous after that episode. His head bobbed uncontrollably with each pounding step that Robotnik's machine made. _What's lard-o doing now? I thought he wanted to kill me, not make me puke._ As they drew closer to the burning building, Sonic was able to vaguely make something out on the sidewalk in front. Seeming to sense his thoughts, Robotnik's robot knelt down and held him as close to the ground as he could. Sonic was just able to prop himself up by pressing his fingertips against the ground. The arm of Robotnik's juggernaut stretched out a little further, forcing him to walk on his hands so that he wouldn't fall and his face wouldn't skid across the concrete. When this awkward action was finished, he finally got a good look at what he had hoped was a mirage.

She was bathed in a radiant light. Earlier he had thought that she was on fire, and in some ways it still looked like that, but her peaceful and uncaring expression led him to conclude that this couldn't possibly have been the case. In her hands was the boy. Tails' head was tilted to the side, his eyes closed.

No, this can't be. But then again… why else would she be here? No, his time can't be now, not so soon. He can't be joining her yet. He's just knocked out, he's just asleep. Yeah, that's it. Just a little nudge should wake him up, yeah.

He reached his right hand out as far as he could. He could feel the tips of the claw fastened firmly around his hip bones, and they dug further into his flesh when he tried to pull himself forward. He flung himself at the young couple before letting out a yelp and falling flat on the concrete. She took notice of him when his hand managed to caress the boy's cheek. Tails' head moved a little, and then flopped back into place. Sonic was going to try to reach out once more, until he got a better look at his hand. It had been caked with dust earlier, but now the palm and fingers of his right hand were highlighted with a crimson mist. When he looked up at her horrified visage, he realized that a similar stain was on the sleeve of her coat that was wrapped around the boy's neck. He was in utter disbelief, his last hope dashed.

Somewhere, farther than the most distant star, but closer than the hairs on one's neck, the great observer was looking on with distaste.

_And so Gilgamesh mourns the loss of Enkidu and his search for life shall be forever fruitless. It's a weak parallel, I admit, but you were always so infuriatingly difficult to classify in my divine order: you are Chaos in mortal form, after all. The problem that arises with placing your trust in Chaos is that you become ignorant of when you will be rewarded or punished by it. Conversely, by trusting in your anger, your own righteous indignation and thirst for retribution, you managed to release Iblis from his emerald prison. You willed Iblis to arise and destroy your enemy; you surrendered yourself to my will subconsciously, for the briefest of moments, and you were rewarded with your own survival. How tragic that such a development will not benefit you this time around. You do not mourn the situations of others, you merely mourn yourself: your crystalline idols have fallen away from you, and you lack the courage to trust in me._

Julian couldn't contain himself. _So this was your plan all along? You really were on my side! You simply perfected my tactic: you brought her here (or her likeness, rather) to raise their hopes up as high as they could go before casting them into the dark chasm. No sense in kicking them when they're down, right? The miracle that they were hoping for, her return, came as close to being granted as possible, but now they realize that even that isn't enough: nothing ever will be. No clone, no look-alike can ever replace the original, and the original is long-gone. If Miles manages to pull through, then he will finally realize the folly of his dream, I can only hope. I applaud you, Mephiles: you came through for me after all. And to think, without you I would've just choked the hedgehog to death in Launch Base Zone. How boring would that have been?_

There would be time for thanks later; the hedgehog must've gotten the point by now. "And now you finally see," Robotnik uttered aridly. "This is the result of good intentions. Sonic the hedgehog, you've been completely defeated. Your friends can't save you: they're all distracted, dying, dead or helpless. But more importantly, you can't save them: you never could. Fear not, I will watch over the Earth in your absence, and I will accomplish what you never could in life. Now is the time that our story comes to an end, as all tales must. Your final reward will be a fast death. It's rather fitting for you, isn't it?"

Julian noticed an ambulance speeding down the street. Two people jumped out of the car, one of them carrying a flame-retardant blanket. The other one was Christopher. No sense in killing them unintentionally, it'd be best to get some distance first. He pulled the hedgehog away from the mournful sight and left the ambulance and victims behind. He dashed through the streets as fast as his mech would allow him, smashing the pavement beneath him. He supposed that the hedgehog deserved one last good run before the end.

When he settled on a nice, deserted spot, Julian hurled the rodent far into the air. The targeting system was locked on. The armor plating on the dreadnaught slid open, revealing a ridiculously large stockpile of missiles. It was almost as if the robot was filled with nothing but missiles. Just one had been enough to take down one of Miles Prower's masterpieces, but what was the harm in being thorough? The eruption of rockets brought an overabundance of fury to the otherwise uneventful evening skies.

These missiles, as stated before, were perhaps the smartest in existence. They knew that this target wasn't to be handled in the same way as a plane. They were well aware that this target was adept at using missiles as stepping stones and platforms. They also knew that he lacked the ability to fly. They kept their distance from him as he tumbled helplessly, ensuring that he couldn't grab onto to one of them. They also beat him to the ground, just on the off-chance that he could literally hit the ground running and try to escape them.

As the sun was setting, a new star was born in Station Square, if only for a minute or so. The blast was gargantuan in scale, giving even the Death Egg a run for its money. The nearest buildings were atomized. The shockwave tore through both layers of shielding that Julian had, but luckily the armor plating managed to close up in time and it got away with only a mild scorching. A hail of shattered glass rained throughout the rest of the city, giving the appearance of a fresh winter powder.

When the hell-storm had cleared Julian set his machine to idle so that it could cool down and give the Master Emerald some time to recuperate. He went over the factors again, just to be sure. The Chaos Emeralds had been removed from the equation, so Chaos Control wasn't an option. He still possessed the Chaos Driver, so that was out, too. The hedgehog's friends were in no position to help, and even if they were they'd just die along with him. He did the math when he chose that specific type of missile: the explosion was too massive and it expanded too quickly for the hedgehog to possibly outrun it.

Yep, the data all indicated the same undeniable conclusion: irrefutably and without any semblance of a doubt, reasonable or otherwise. It's settled, then: Sonic the Hedgehog is dead.


	40. Ch 40: Defeat

**I've decided how the rest of the story is going to unfold. I am going to make a sequel to this story, but I'm going to make a couple of additional chapters after the next one (which was supposed to be the last) that tie up the loose ends, rather than making you all wait until the sequel. I think I'll make these extra chapters before I go any further with the spinoff. There'll still be a hiatus after the next chapter, but it shouldn't be very long.**

**I'll try to have the next chapter by Wednesday, but it's going to have to go through some major revisions (it was originally meant to be the final chapter, after all), so if winds up not being on time, that's why.**

Omega put a bullet into the head of the last swatbot in sight. He phoned his creator.

"The immediate threat has been expunged. What are your orders?"

Only a muffle that resembled Eggman's vocal pattern could be heard.

Omega turned to Shadow and Rouge: "my creator asks for your presence."

"Sounds fun, I'm sure," Rouge brushed him aside, "but we've got a job to do here: we've gotta get this ship out of here."

"Excuse me," Omega shifted the conversation back to his built-in communicator, "they say they have a task to complete. They would be able to complete it sooner if the ship's defenses were deactivated. May I receive the authorization to do so?"

"Hold on a minute, buster," she couldn't think of a more insulting term at the moment, "you could've saved us all a lot of trouble and you didn't because?"

Omega finished up his conversation with Eggman, who likely had similar questions, and finally addressed her. "I was unaware of your goal until now, and I required the creator's override in order to disregard my custodian's orders. When I fall out of contact with my creator, my loyalties default toward my custodian."

"Custodian?"

"The one you call Dr. Robotnik."

"So your custodian is the one who shoots you and sends his goons after you?"

"I follow his whims as long as they do not contradict the whims of my creator or put my creator in danger. This specific order issued by my custodian, to keep you preoccupied, was an acceptable command until my creator informed me otherwise. He asks for your assistance, so I will permit you to go about your business, but I urge you to come to his aid as soon as you are able. He also requested that I join him, so I'll be off."

"Hold on, if you know how to shut down the ship's defenses then don't you know how to move it?"

"There's no internal control system for this craft, and I cannot access any of the external control systems. If you still wish to relocate the craft, there's still a reserve of chaos energy in the ship's engines. Perhaps your companion would be able to utilize it."

Shadow, who hadn't said a word the whole time, was merely pragmatic at this latest revelation. He didn't reply to the automaton, who took this as his cue to leave.

"Well, aren't you going to do something?" Rouge demanded. "That tin can was just toying with us the whole time."

"There's no point now. What's done is done," he finally spoke.

"Fine," she pouted, "but you heard him, you've got a job to do."

**---------------------------------------------**

Topaz gunned the acceleration as soon as she noticed the blinding eruption growing rapidly in her rearview mirror.

In the back compartment, Chris was checking the boy's breathing. Cosmo was swaddled in a blanket: her dress and coat were singed and the tip of her left rosebud was cleaved away, showing a charred cross-section of the various paper-thin layers.

Mournfully, she reported: "they killed him."

"Don't say that," Chris rebuked her out of passion. "Tails isn't out yet, he can still make it."

"I wasn't talking about Tails."

"Who, then?"

She thought about it for a minute. "I'm so sorry, but I don't remember what his name was. I just remember that he had blue, spiky hair."

**---------------------------------------------------**

He walked up to the shattered remains of the emerald holding tank. He reached inside each of the seven sockets and pulled out a bundle of cords. He removed his power rings and held all of the wires in his fists. "There's still a great deal of energy left in these machines. It's all that I need to get rid of this place."

"Well, good luck with that," she said without conviction, "you better power up first."

He tightened his grip and winced for a moment, then loosened up again without changing his form. "It doesn't seem to work, but even so this task is beneath my abilities."

She let out an aggravated sigh. "Don't tell me you've already forgotten. You almost died when you moved things less than half the size of this ship, and that was when you were in your super form."

"Have you forgotten? I can't die."

She didn't want to jinx things, but something was bothering her: "So, you do have a heart, don't you? I don't see how you could explain this as revenge at this point."

"I made her a promise, remember?"

"Yes, but I didn't think _you_ remembered."

"The Ark, the Metarex War. Life always feels like it's repeating itself: a conflict in space, the losses, the chaos emeralds, saving the world, being frozen in a tube and starting all over again. It's hard to forget when you've lived through it twice. This is who I am," he said as he looked around the room, then back at the cables in his hands, "this is what I'm meant to do."

He clutched the wires tighter, feeling the energy flowing through them. He spoke the key words.

**-----------------------------------------------------**

Steam filled the air as Julian's machine vented. He let out a relaxed sigh that synchronized with the hiss of the white-hot engines. He was slouched in his chair in a state of exhausted ecstasy.

A massive, mile-wide crater lay in front of him. The oasis of nothingness in this urban clutter was an unusually relaxing sight. He almost felt like resting his eyes until a faint twinkle was caught in them. At first he was alarmed, until he noticed that it was just the setting sunlight refracting off of some dust in the air. Strangely, this shining dust seemed to be descending in a uniform pace, one speck at a time, from some unseen location above and behind. There was nothing else of immediate concern at the moment, so Julian humored his own childlike curiosity by rotating the robot's cranium 180 degrees and panning the viewfinder upward. Perhaps it was a burning building, or an emergency flare.

He choked on his own saliva at the sight.

Behind him, atop a building that had barely weathered the blast was a tiny figure: no more than three feet tall with oversized hands and feet. Its bulbous head was crowned with spiky hair that flopped downward.

"Impossible! There's just no way!" Julian hacked and wheezed.

He couldn't even begin to fathom this turn of events and, in truth, neither could Sonic. The clues to this outcome had been scattered in the previous hours, and no one individual knew the cause (although, after this day everyone would coalesce their stories and their own minute clues to this mystery and, in turn, finally come to a conclusion).

Mephiles, the pupal god who could hardly be relegated to the mere role of individual at this point in its divine development, had the whole mystery laid bare in its mind. The devil was in the details, after all:

"_Tails tried to pry the driver open to have the look. When he unscrewed the cap of the driver's storage compartment, he was sprayed with a fine __**red**__ powder. After he wiped __most of it__ off of his face…"_

"…_his hand managed to caress the boy's cheek…. but now the palm and fingers of his right hand were highlighted with a __**crimson**__ mist."_

"_It's amazing what a little emerald dust can do. It's of such fine quality and high energy-density that a few specks are all it takes to get you where you need to go."_

The red stain that was on Sonic's glove now glowed and began to fade away bit by miniscule bit, just as the residue of any artificial emerald did when it was used up. He managed to separate the soles of his shoes and catch his breath. When he knew that Robotnik's eyes were upon him, he raced down the front of the building, and leapt away from its surface just before hitting a small outcropping.

Lacking its energy shields, Julian's machine received a huge dent in its midsection from this collision. The momentum was so great that it was knocked a few feet off of the ground.

Sonic condensed his inner energy and drive. He became surrounded by a shower of green lights. The Light Speed Dash, before this moment, was little more than a theoretical apex of his own abilities: a part of him always sensed his potential to perform this technique, but he had never been granted a proper scenario to put this theory into effect. Prior occasions when he considered using it were times when: a. the situation wasn't dire enough to warrant it, b. he didn't have enough time to prepare for the attack, or c. he already possessed a chaos emerald, which rendered the relative benefits of the attack moot. Here it was: the dreamed-of day, a textbook example of the proper conditions.

Julian's control pod was bounced around like a pinball: the magnetic crumple zones didn't have nearly enough time to reset themselves. The armor plating gave way as it was struck several times a second. Before the synapses in Julian's brain could fire and relay a sense of urgency or adrenaline, the limbs of his creation had already been disintegrated and tossed into the air like confetti. All that remained was the head and torso, which began to plunge from its now-lofty position in the skies.

Sonic slowed down his pace to line up the finishing blow. He spun, flipped and twisted through the air like a diver before landing on the face of Julian's Juggernaut as the back of its head touched the ground. The metallic skull was annihilated in a shockwave that rivaled that of the detonation that had almost cost him his life minutes ago.

The spherical torso skipped across the ground after being separated from its cranium and it finally settled at the bottom of the crater that it created.

Sonic returned to his normal threshold of speed so that he could take the time to enjoy this unwrapping. He charged at the massive globe repeatedly, warping its exterior and separating the plating little by little with each successive hit. With a final strike that felt like it could have dislocated his arm, Sonic popped the top open.

The inside was like a nest: a white, round form resting on a pile of coarse strands of raw material. When he had opened the ivory egg, he was enraged to only find a vacated pilot's seat with a shattered pair of glasses and a few drops of blood sprinkled about the interior.

Below, in a different compartment, he noticed the Master Emerald. Unsurprisingly, it had once again shattered. Robotnik probably couldn't waste his time to pick up all the pieces.

His anger deserted him shortly thereafter, unable to compete with the aching of his joints and the searing pain of his plethora of cuts and burns. Even these primal sensations were drowned out by the terror and remorse that he felt as his dissipating anger allowed him to remember that there were more people on the planet than Julian Robotnik and himself: the last time he recalled, the Death Egg was still out there.

He raced up and over the city's wall, but from its peak he couldn't spot the ship. What he did notice, however, was that one building in the city had its lights on. He made his way to the beacon and discovered the city hospital.

In spite of the good news: that the Death Egg "left" and that the citizens were successfully evacuated, the tone at the hospital was that of a morgue.

The greetings were very brief: even the otherwise stunning revelation that Cosmo was alive was not enough to draw his attention from his single concern.

He was directed to a room with a wealth of wires feeding into a single device. It was a horizontal, cylindrical glass tube. Inside of it, on a nondescript flat, was the child. In comparison to the cold, polished human-sized tube, he looked altogether tiny and fragile. The sterilized environment sealed the boy in his own world, and his naked hands and feet shattered what little pretense there was for believing that the child was insolated from that world's harms. Never before had he seemed so vulnerable and distant from his protection… except when they first met.

All that Sonic could do now was watch.

Chris, in his persistent drive for clarity, explained the situation in as quiet and nonintrusive of a way as he could: "they say he has carbon monoxide poisoning. This hyperbaric chamber is supposed to get it out of his system, but there's no telling what damage has already been done." He was hesitant to add: "keep in mind that it's a miracle that he's gotten this far; if the plane had spun in any other way he wouldn't be here right now. There's no telling how much longer luck will hold out for him."

Sonic just pressed his forehead against the glass and closed his eyes.

Some distant chattering could be heard in the front of the building. The chattering quickly became a heated exchange.

The staff called for assistance upon the arrival of several unwanted guests: Omega, Dr. Eggman and his metal entourage. Chris checked on the situation and calmed everyone's fears somewhat when he explained the distinction between the goofy egghead and the antagonizing madman of today's headlines. Even so, Eggman hardly had a lustrous reputation around here, so everyone was on their guard. As a show of good will, the plump scientist ordered Omega and the others to wait outside.

Before any further words were exchanged, one of G.U.N.'s transports landed, carrying Amy and Silver in tow. This sudden influx of activity was making Sonic antsy: the last thing he wanted was for someone to inconsiderately barge in here.

Chris picked up the slack in this case, and explained the situation to everyone. In spite of a passionate objection from Amy, he managed to convince the new arrivals that only Sonic could see Tails right now; they needed time alone and only the doctors should be able to come and go as they pleased.

Eggman didn't hear this explanation while he was going over his side of this whole story when prompted to do so by the newly arrived G.U.N. agents. He didn't want to get thrown in jail again, after all. The others who weren't interested in such tales checked up on Knuckles, who was conscious but not quite at the level of awareness that would let him slip back into his grumpy defaults.

Sonic reentered the main area just as Eggman was explaining the nature of his involvement (putting careful emphasis on the lack-thereof) in his descendant's actions. Unblinking, Sonic cast off Amy's concerned greeting and walked straight up to Eggman's face.

"Yes?" the doctor asked.

"That other one. He was gone when I checked the inside of his scrapheap. Where is he? Where would he have gone?" He was already beginning to sound mortified.

Eggman didn't give the jumbled question the serious response that it deserved. "Beats me," he shrugged.

He would've smacked him across the face if he could reach. Before he could come up with an alternative fit for his size, one of the MDs asked for everyone's attention.

In a grave tone, he announced: "The child's stabilized, but… judging from the accounts that I've overheard, I can say that, in all likelihood his brain is too far-gone at this point. There's just no way of coming back from such a long period of exposure without immediate care. I'm sorry, but even if he does pull through, things won't be the same."

Oddly enough, the only immediate reaction, save for Cosmo's sobbing, was Eggman sinking to the floor in a dejected pile.

Sonic didn't seem phased at all, at least on the outside. He asked Ivo again, in a slow and deliberate tone: "Where. Is. He?"

"I'm sorry, but I just don't know," he confessed, distraught.

Suddenly Sonic remembered: maybe Tails still had the radar with him before he ended up here. Sure enough, among his belongings scattered on the floor around the tank, it was lying there. He peered into the tiny LCD display and saw a distant dot.

"I'm going to find Robotnik," he announced with determination to anyone who couldn't already piece that fact together. "Don't wait for me."

"Wait," Silver said with hesitation.

Sonic's gaze suddenly snapping in his direction caught Silver off guard, and gave him the impression that maybe he shouldn't say what he was about to say. Then again, there was no one else to say it for him. "This just seems… off. Robotnik was only after you so… erm, what if… it was an accident?" Even he winced at the sound of these words as he spoke them.

"Silver…" Sonic began with a deceptive hint of patience.

"Yes?"

"Shut up."

Sonic peeled out without further hesitation.

"So, you're Silver? I should've figured," Eggman tried to sympathize with the lad.

"What do you mean by that?" he tried to sound tough.

"Oh, nothing. I'm just sorry for your loss, that's all."

"My loss?"

"I'm guessing you knew Julian? I overheard him talking about you and that woman while I was his prisoner. I'm sorry for how things have turned out."

Something seemed very wrong with what the doctor just said. "If you were his prisoner, then how did you know about that?"

"He kept going on about how she was going to die, and one day she did, from the sound of it."

"'going to die'? What, you mean he knew?!" he asked incredulously.

"I don't think he planned it or anything, that's just what I heard Mephiles tell him ahead of time."

"Mephiles?" he stammered.

This had caught Cosmo's attention. Her eyes were still pink and puffy, and her voice was filled with intermittent sniffles, but she still felt the need to clarify: "y-you shouldn't take The Master's name in vain."

"Master?!" in just a few short moments he had changed from fearful to fuming.

"Wait a second…" Eggman said quizzically. "What's that you've got in your hands?" He was referring to a small gadget that the young seedrian was holding.

Silver quickly rushed over and snatched the device that she held. "A radar? How long have you had this?" He didn't let her answer. "Never mind; I've got to act quickly. I need to find Julian and get this straightened out."

"Hold on," Amy tried to calm him down; he was hobbling to the door and his speech wasn't perfectly clear. She was already pushed to the breaking point from the recent news, so she sounded a bit more impassioned than she would've liked. "You're not thinking straight. You've been busy and active all day and you need some time to rest."

"Out of my way!" he shoved her aside. "We don't have any more time to sit and think." He rushed out of the building as fast as he could. Over the past few days, the only thing that was of comfort to him was the thought that, no matter how the coming events turned out, at least the wrath of Iblis had been averted. He assumed that Mephiles would fade into obscurity with the creature's destruction, but his plans were apparently still in motion. Had Blaze really succeeded in her mission? He had to know.

"Is everything alright, sir?" Bocoe asked while peering through the front entrance.

"There seems to be an awful lot of commotion," Decoe added.

"I told you to stay out!" Eggman snapped at them. His mood once again dropped. He started to babble to himself. "Julian, you fool… you've thrown your life away… you're worth less than dirt now… even if you surrender to the authorities, they'll just blow your head off for the sport of it."

Rouge and Shadow finally made their entrance. The weary treasure hunter plopped herself down at Knuckles' side and slipped off her shoes. Shadow stood behind Eggman, expecting an explanation.

"Where've you two been?" he turned to ask.

"Saving everyone's skin… again," Rouge said with displeasure. "We finally managed to put that Death Egg down."

Shadow's brow furrowed for a moment. Eggman took notice of this little quirk.

"Is there something you'd like to add?" the scientist pried.

"Something's… not right. I can feel some small presence of energy back at the ship… and it wasn't there when we left it."

Eggman immediately got his hopes up. "Julian? It's gotta be Julian. Can you show me where you left it?"

"And why would I do that?" Shadow asked.

"He's wronged you. He's wronged all of us. Don't you want redress for what he's done?"

"There are many who've wronged me, far more than he has."

Ivo realized what must have occurred: Shadow had regained his memories. Unfortunately this would make him harder to control in future plans, but it had one upside: it allowed the doc to appeal to what remained of his emotions. "Things don't look good for Tails, you know, and it's all Julian's doing."

There was no response.

"Maria wasn't even that old when she-"

"-enough," Shadow cut him off, "Fine, I'll show you."

"And I thank you in advance," Eggman bowed. "Are you coming along, Rouge?"

"That's all you're getting out of me," she shooed them away, "I don't care if it starts raining fire, I'm set for life when it comes to good deeds."

With their exit, the only ones left to pickup the pieces were Amy, Chris and Cosmo. Topaz was busy assisting the newly-arrived soldiers, and Knuckles and Rouge were preoccupied with each other. As disturbing as this talk of retribution was, it at least served to delay the inevitable question that was now on their minds: what now?


	41. Ch 41: New Beginnings

**Author's Note: Wow, that was a new record. Thanks for all of the views when I submitted chapter 40 everybody. This chapter has undergone major revisions and is in a slightly different format than usual. This format will be continued in the next mini-season until the end. Since it was a recent decision to add more chapters to the series, this chapter's ending may seem a little abrupt because I had to make it on short notice. This chapter will also be pretty short, because there's some content that was originally in here that I'm saving for the real final chapter.**

The shards of the broken pocket watch sunk to the bottom of his cupped hands as he was plodding through the forest. He stopped for a moment to dump the pieces in his travel sack. He rubbed his aching shoulder rhythmically; he was still sniffling.

Why couldn't he grow up more quickly? Even though he tried to be as diplomatic and non-judgmental as possible, he still felt that the other children were beneath him mentally. Even some of the adults seemed too crude and simple, but they were still preferable company. At least when they destroyed his possessions, he'd only get a lecture on the evils of "metal sorcery," rather than a beating.

He didn't want to dwell on the subject, but that wasn't going to be much of an issue. He was knocked off of his feet by some force that sped through the brush. The trees swayed at the blast of air and the grass had a scorch mark on it. The air popped shortly after.

It must be a roller, he concluded. Rollers were one of the unique varieties of metal creatures that had recently appeared on the island. They were dangerous to approach, but their remains provided useful bounties of spare parts. In fact, pretty much all of his trinkets and gadgets were made from such creatures.

Something didn't seem right, though. He pulled a lengthy volume from his pack. He had found the book in the ruins of the clockwork city (a clock was pretty much the most advanced piece of technology that the natives could grasp, so to them every machine was a clockwork device). Some called it the "Scrap Brain Zone" ('scrap brain' being a derogatory term for those who take an interest in advanced technology in this neck of the woods. Naturally, the boy was very familiar with the term).

He paged through the text and found the specifications for the roller. Like he initially suspected, the force that he observed earlier seemed beyond the roller's abilities. The roller's top speed on a level surface was 280 meters per second, whereas the speed of sound is 343 meters per second, at least according to this book. Maybe whoever wrote this book made a new machine, and maybe the seared trail that it left will lead to this dubious person. Finally, someone like him: someone who won't think he's a freak.

He ventured through the forest and approached the vast shoreline. A brick road had been hastily assembled in the sand, and it was already showing signs of sinking. At the end of this road was the most incredible machine that he had ever laid eyes on.

**-----------------------------------------------------------**

The two men sat next to each other in the back of the helicopter that brought them over Station Square's unwanted, still-lingering wall.

"How are you holding up, kiddo?" the old man asked.

"Better than the others." This wasn't saying much, because he was still a wreck.

"I'm sorry I couldn't have gotten here sooner."

"Well, I'm sure he still wants to see you, even if he may not be aware of it."

The old man sighed as he turned to look out the window. "Everyone was terribly worried about you when you were gone, myself included. But, I trusted that you'd come back. To be honest, I was more worried about him. You were all so determined, but when you told me what happened to him during your last journey, I didn't know if he'd have the strength to make it in such a dangerous world."

"You shouldn't have worried about that," Chris tried to reassure him; "he was the strongest of us all."

"Don't take this the wrong way or anything, but I always liked to think that in some ways he was my other grandson, even though I only knew him for a short time."

Chris thought about it for a second. "Thanks."

"For what?" Chuck asked.

"For thinking that I can compare to him."

**-------------------------------------------------------**

Ms. Garcia, after having a chance to get a night's sleep, managed to deliver the news in a more collected manner.

"Day dawns on Station Square for the first time since the end of the hostage crisis. During the night, the conflict had erupted to the point where the entire west district had been irreparably destroyed. Fortunately, the city was already evacuated at the time. Fears that a nuclear strike had been ordered were laid to rest when it was determined that the explosion wasn't nuclear or biological in nature.

Once the attack was officially declared to be over, the demanded legislation put forth by the perpetrator of the crisis floundered in the Senate vote. There are no immediate plans to revise these bills and the common belief is that they will fade into obscurity. The sole measure which did pass was the call for a constitutional convention, which managed to receive the president's approval. This turn of events has brought citizens around the country to protest. How should the government have handled this crisis? We ask viewers at home to make their voices heard and share their opinions on our website. We'll have more on this issue as it develops.

In a turn of events that border on the miraculous, only one fatality has been confirmed as of the current tally, and ironically the 'victim' was the attack's instigator: Dr. Julian Robotnik. His body was discovered when his massive crash-landed aircraft was secured by G.U.N. forces just outside the city. There was reportedly no retaliation from the ship's private military force, and early claims are stating that the Doctor was already deceased when he was discovered. No cause of death has been suggested or ruled out at this time.

But not all is well in the city. Viewers at home must keep in mind that there are still many people missing, injured and unaccounted for, among them famed hero Sonic the hedgehog, who vanished in the attack's closing hours. Our prayers are out to Station Square's finest, the victims and their families."

**Author's Second Note: Confused? These last few chapters are going to jump around quite a bit. Each chapter (including this one) will start off with a flashback of an event from some time ago (those of you who've watched Sonic X have probably already guessed which event I'm "flashing back" to, and even those of you who haven't probably know as well). **

**Julian dead? There'll be much more on this development, I assure you. There are a few reasons why I went with this turn of events: 1. I needed some way to make the threat to station square extinguished. Since Julian pretty much has unlimited mobility (what with his mastery of emerald manipulation and all), it's difficult to find a plausible explanation for why he would call off his attack. 2. Even if I had Julian survive, he wasn't really needed in the remainder of the story, and I felt it'd be best if he went out on the heels of perhaps the greatest crisis that Sonic and friends have faced yet. I'd like to think that Julian is different from Eggman in that his individual schemes are better, but he's not so good on the rebound (i.e. starting over, like Eggman has done countless times). There'll always be a spot in my heart for the old scientist, but keep in mind that originally he was never supposed to have such a large role. Mephiles was originally going to be the chief villain, but Julian's personality made me all too willing to let him hijack the plot. I suppose Julian is one of the main factors that will separate this story from its eventual sequel, but let it be known that his influence and legacy will carry on in that story as well.**

**For those of you saying I didn't give Julian's death enough importance, the next few chapters will detail his final hours, as well as who or what led to his demise. Until then, take care!**


	42. Ch 42: Resolve

**Author's Note: Finally back. I don't really have an excuse this time other than to say that I've been more active lately and I've been spending a little less time on the computer. I'm not really "busy" or anything; I just haven't been investing as much time in all of this.**

**I'd like to think these last four chapters are more coherent and have more context than that stinker that I left you with. I'd rewrite it, but pretty much the only way to adequately rewrite it would be to merge it with another chapter and it's a little late for that. But, like that chapter, each of these four chapters will start with a continuation of a particular flashback, and after that will be the events that occurred in Julian's final hours.**

It was incredible: a living legend, a myth sitting right in front of him. The long crimson pod was tilted with its nose slightly upward. It rested on three wheels and it had two massive horizontal-lying sails in front with three small fins attached to the tail.

It was real: an actual pilot-operated flying machine. There were rumors of a round floating pod being spotted in the area, but the boy dismissed that as a tall tale: this, on the other hand, was something that actually looked like it could fly. It couldn't be anything else.

He had to see what it looked like on the inside. He spotted a hatch on the craft's exterior that looked like it was held in place with a latch and hinge. After prying this open, he examined the engine: it was far larger than any he had seen before. Within the grid of mechanisms and forest of wires, he noticed something a tad queer. Everything inside was filthy: well, filthier than the interior of any machine he had seen before. For self-sufficient robots who strike out on their own, this crude internal ambiance would be acceptable, but surely the master mechanic who crafted this masterpiece has no excuse to leave it in such a state of decay. Oh well, it looked like it was time to get to work.

Long after the palms of his ragged gloves became pitch-black from wiping the engine clean, he noticed that the ridges on the sparkplugs had become coagulated with rust. He took out one of the handheld motors that he salvaged from a Buzz Bomber and swapped out the plugs. He better check the oil while he's at it. After uncapping the tank and fishing a twig in there, he was met with a goopy and discolored mess clumped to the end of said twig. How did this plane even make it here, anyway?

Changing the oil wasn't as much of a monumental task as he had initially feared; he simply scraped the gluey brown slurry out of the chamber and poured in a cleaner blend that he had been saving. He was hoping to one day recreate a metal animal on his own and he'd been collecting the essential components for it, but he figured that can be put on hold if it meant restoring this infinitely more impressive device with the materials he had on hand. Perhaps he should've checked to see if this thing still worked before he spent all of this time tuning it up.

Unfortunately, it seemed that this transport had its own lock: a jagged keyhole that read "ignition." Perhaps he could crack it later on, but he wanted to wait at least a day for a possible owner to show up before he risked taking a test drive.

When the internal maintenance was complete, the boy noticed the red paint starting to crack and peel. He scraped away whatever chips that he could, although the paint hadn't quite degraded to the point where he could easily remove it all.

He still had his bottle of dye that he used for decorating his most beloved creations. The little container's contents wouldn't be nearly enough, but it was going to take him a few trips to get all of the berries that would need to be mashed up to form more dye, so he might as well use up what he had left.

He poured the blue slop on the tail end and caught the streams dribbling down the side with a brush he fashioned from the bristles of a Motobug (ordinarily the bristles surrounded the Motobug's wheel, hanging low in order to sweep away glass shards and sharp rocks on the ground). He spread the azure stain as far as he could until the edges dried out.

He took great pleasure at observing the cross-hatched pattern of brush strokes that he had made: evidence that his own hand was involved, at least in some small way, in this machine's history. The stain was no longer a stain, but a full-blown segment that covered most of the left side of the central body. It still looks tacky right now, but just imagine how it would look when it was finished.

Unbeknownst to him, there was another person present whom didn't possess such optimism or a willingness to see what would unfold. The other impatiently inquired: "What do you think you're doing?"

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Silver knew that he had to act quickly: it went without saying that Sonic was much faster than him, so he'd have to use his wits to find the Death Egg first. He had hitched a ride atop a military air transport that was exiting the city. Apparently there was a call to mobilize the troops elsewhere, or so he overheard. If the Death Egg had already been found, that would certainly be a good reason to make the call.

Spot-on: even though the sun had long set, he could make out the station's form against the surrounding territory. It was flat on the ground, no lights on or engines ignited. G.U.N. forces had swarmed around the structure. In spite of the impressive turnout on their part, the soldiers and jeeps looked like nothing more than a few stray flecks in comparison to the bulging, mile-wide metal disk.

As the transport beneath him was beginning to descend, he leapt off of it, coasting off of its momentum until he managed to ease himself down onto the nasal peak that protruded from the massive ship's visage.

He was weary and certainly not the first to get here, but he did have one advantage that no other pursuer could possess: he knew the layout of the place. Prior to his journey back in time, he was briefed on what to expect from Eggman: this included schematics of all of his hideouts, which had been uploaded to his communicator watch.

Funny, he had forgotten that he still had it. When Julian fled in the presence of Dark Super Sonic back at the Launch Base, he left it behind and the young hedgehog had managed to recover it before the fight with Iblis. It makes sense that he'd forget about it now: after all, what's the point of a communicator when there's no one left to communicate with?

He sighed as he began to force the ship's armor plating apart. _Just remember why you're here._

The station had multiple decoy control rooms, but as far as he knew there was no actual internal controlling mechanism for the station: it was all remote-controlled. There was, however, a secret safe room. This room was completely separate from the others with no connecting hallways or passages. The only way to reach it was through the ship's emerald-fueled instantaneous transport system (such as the one used to transport the Master Emerald throughout the station).

Julian must have imparted him with this knowledge because he figured that his plans would go along as intended and that the fledgling Mobian would never have gotten the chance to use this knowledge against him: a big mistake.

He found one of the transport terminals in an area that had yet to be quartered by the investigating soldiers. He entered the frequency for the safe room and was bathed in a flash of light.

His destination was a Plexiglas tube with auto-turrets aiming at it from the outside.

Barely after he became aware of the situation he had been thrust into, the transparent cylinder lifted and the turrets were lowered. Relieved, Silver locked gazes with Julian, who was skulking about in a dark corner of the chamber. The doctor said nothing and went about his business as soon as he was sure who was there and that his guest was aware of his presence as well. The tube lowered once Silver stepped out and the turrets focused on its lacking contents.

"I want answers, and I want them now Julian," Silver threw all formalities aside.

"Good. One should always be seeking," Julian didn't bother with his smarmy attitude. For once his age was apparent in his voice.

"I've been hearing that Mephiles is still wandering about. A reliable source told me that you've been meeting with him."

He let out a wheezing chuckle "Ah, Ivo's always been one to switch sides in a pinch. But yes, I've met with Mephiles. We formed a partner ship, actually."

Silver's tone was low and deliberate. "Then tell me how he knew what was going to happen to Blaze, and why neither of you tried to stop it."

"Because he wanted it to happen, and so did I. There, happy?"

Silver charged at the old man, pinning him to the ground. When he managed to get a closer look at him, he noticed that the Doctor's nose was broken: the tip was snapped to the side and there was dried blood on his mustache and upper lip. It must've been a previous injury.

Julian winced for a moment, but continued with growing confidence: "It wasn't personal, if that's what you're wondering. I knew all along that it was the only way she could stop Iblis. She was the only one who could, and Mephiles knew this as well. And as for his justification? You'll find out eventually."

"You'll tell me now," Silver said as he raised his heel above Julian's arm.

"You're going to want to try the other side: that one's already broken. At any rate, it's best you find out on your own: I can't entirely explain it anyway. And even if I could, this truth is too devastating for even me to bear telling. If you think I've caused a lot of problems, just you wait: things are going to get much worse. And don't think that you can stop it: today's exercise pushed you to your limits, and I wasn't even trying to kill you."

"I can handle it. I'm not asking again."

"Don't kid yourself. You've made it perfectly clear that you don't have what it takes to make the kinds of decisions that Blaze and I have: the company that you're keeping is a clear indicator of that. Tell me, when's the last time your 'friends' talked to you about Blaze's passing? Do they even remember who she is?"

Silver's brow receded; his mouth became a slacked horizontal line of uncertainty.

"Your face says it all." He became more bitterly patronizing than ever before "Cheer up buddy, don't think about that, just smile and keep that happy face;" he was gleaming with contempt for the mindset that he was mocking. He returned to his normal self. "I swear they're straight out of the mid 1900's. But they're right, though: you're not cut out for this. You're too tame, too naïve. Why else do you think that I was willing to give you the information that led you here? If you were a threat to me don't you think I would've taken that into consideration?"

"Then what were those guns for?"

"Because you aren't the only one capable of finding me," Julian clarified as Silver allowed him to stand back up.

As if on cue, the auto turrets let out a loud beep before blasting the glass tube into shards. Almost simultaneously the guns themselves were destroyed by an unseen force. Julian turned to see the intruder: little did he know that he was staring into the eyes of the person who would soon end his life. The only recognizable hint that the light gave as to this person's identity were a pair of emerald-green eyes.

Julian reached for the Chaos Driver that he had holstered on his belt, but he was knocked off his feet by a bright blue blur. The driver clattered on the floor some distance from him. There was no hesitation this time.

Silver tried to get a hold of the assailant, but he was still weak from his day of activity. His psychokinetic grip had no affect outside of drawing the attacker's attention. He was grabbed by the wrist and a pearly-white gloved fist hammered his midsection repeatedly. When he bent over from the pain, he received a thin-as-a-rail knee to the chin.

"You…" was all that Silver managed to utter before he was thrown across the room and into a wall.

Julian heaved himself toward the driver, but a crimson red shoe ground its heel into his palm. The other shoe gave him a relatively light kick in the face which left him sprawled on his back.

"So you didn't wait, huh? Can't say that I'm too surprised," Julian mockingly chided. "I figured you'd make your way here at some point to silence me. I don't suppose you've taken my words into the slightest of consideration, have you? No, you're not really the thinking type. Do you even possess a mind at this point, or has it completely wasted away?"

The assailant's reply consisted simply of the words: "Stop. Talking."


	43. Ch 43: Faust

**Even though the last chapter was mostly retreading old information, I thought it was necessary to have at least one scene between Silver and Julian, considering their past history. I also had to address the relative silence on the matter of Blaze's death and what Julian thinks of that. It's far from the most important chapter, but I think it serves as a nice summary of the earlier events in this story.**

"What do you think you're doing?"

The boy immediately dropped his present task and stood front and center. He bowed profusely and began to apologize. "Sorry. When I see a machine I just can't help myself."

The young man who had caught him red-handed asked once more: "What were you doing with my plane?"

"Well, I cleaned it and replaced the oil and spark plugs." These words didn't seem to impress. He hurriedly added: "It should run much better now."

The young man turned to examine the plane and didn't say anything for a while.

"It looked like it was in pretty bad shape. You could've landed in the ocean if you kept it going like that much longer."

The other Mobian shuttered at the thought. "Well then," he began half-convinced of the boy's intentions, "I'd be interested to hear how a change of paint is supposed to make it run better."

"Oh…" his speech became awkward. "Well, the only dyes I know how to make are blue, black and yellow, and I figured that blue would look better than the other two. Besides, the old paint was starting to fall off anyway."

"Well then, good call," he chuckled, "as you can see, the color suits me."

There was silence. The boy knew that if he didn't say something fast, the inevitable question would come up. "So, did you make this plane?"

"Nah, it was inheritance from my uncle," he answered aloofly. "He was a real gear-head in his day. Too bad he didn't let me know how to take care of this thing before he went. Thanks for the tune-up, by the way."

"Don't mention it." The kid was befuddled. "Oh, and sorry about your loss."

"Don't be. Life's about moving forward, not looking back. He may not be here now, but you're here to tell me how to do it, if you don't mind, that is; you seem to know your stuff."

The boy was elated at this prospect. "Really? I mean, yeah, sure I will. It's just… uh…"

"What?"

"A machine like this is pretty complicated, and it's going to take me a while to explain everything: more than the time left before sundown. And, well…"

"Then you can camp here tonight if you want. Don't feel like I'm rushing you or anything. Well, actually I do like to rush, but go at your own pace: take all the time you need."

Could it be? Obviously this person didn't despise him, but the boy didn't have to debase himself by telling sad stories of his past just to garner sympathy from him, either. There was no use in questioning the situation any further: everything turned out alright, why jinx it?

"By the way, what's your name, little guy?"

"Oh, um, I'm Miles Prower, but people around here call me Tails."

"Well good job on the plane, Tails. My name's Sonic: Sonic the hedgehog."

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"You act as though you've transcended everything, as if you had the whole world figured out, but you're just a simple-minded fool," Julian's foe responded.

"My mind is simple because it makes sense. That would be nothing at all like you."

"You do not understand."

"No, I never could. So what will you do after this? You can't keep it a secret: people will know that you've been here."

"This identity has outlived its usefulness. After all, what is a Mephistopheles without his Faust? You sought to reach the peak of human intellect, and now that, for the briefest of moments, you've experienced the epitome of pleasure when you thought your agenda had succeeded, your life must come to an end. I must admit, you did serve as a useful instigator: you managed to trick the child of Chaos into releasing Iblis, and your actions today fit perfectly into my divine plan."

"Finally, a parable of yours that actually makes sense. And you perfected my own strategy to boot. You know what? I'm glad. I'm glad that you'll be out there making your own cause look bad. You'll make a better case for rational skepticism and secularism than I ever could. What the masses out there don't realize is that right now they're just like you; maybe when they see you they'll take a harder look at themselves. So go ahead, martyr me for my cause, you'll be doing me a favor. You won't win, though; if this experience has taught me anything it's that you just can't kill that little blue bugger. If there is a design to this universe, then it seems to be one based on literary archetypes: the 'noble' hero always wins. He'll stop you, mark my words."

Mephiles' nocturnal green eyes could be seen glowing in the darkness above Julian. A horizontal white crescent glimmered just below: it had been years since the dormant deity had found cause for a physical expression of pleasure.

"Tell me one last thing, Faust: does this sound familiar to you?

'Evil men know not what should be done or what should not be done. Purity is not in their hearts, nor good conduct, nor truth. They say: 'This world has no truth, no moral foundation, no God. There is no law of creation: what is the cause of birth but lust? Firm in this belief, these men of dead souls, of truly little intelligence, undertake their work of evil: they are the enemies of this fair world, working for its destruction. They torture their soul with insatiable desires and full of deceit, insolence, and pride, they hold fast their dark ideas, and they carry on their impure work. Thus they are beset with innumerable cares which last long, all their life, until death.'"

"The Bhagavad Gita, 16th chapter, I believe. There's no need to lay it on thick: you and I have different ways of doing things, and we're too stubborn to change each others' minds."

"I simply have a tendency to over-explain irrelevant matters while overlooking the broader meaning… it's a habit that I have… acquired."

"So you've told me before" he sounded perplexed, "but I fail to see the relevance."

"I'm sorry if that was more than you wanted to know. You just seemed the inquisitive type and it's a bit of a peeve of mine when people start asking me a bunch of questions."

"But I wasn't aski… there is no understanding you, is there?"

"I'm sorry if that was more than you wanted to know; I simply have a tendency to over-explain irrelevant matters while overlooking the broader meaning…"

"What are you talking about?"

"Inquisitive types like you have always been a peeve of mine. It's a peeve that I have… acquired."

"You're contradicting yourself more than usual, Mephiles. You can't acquire something that you've always had."

"Iblis isn't so much a living creature as it is a vast reserve of energy. 'Killing' it is simply releasing the energy to anyone who's willing or able to accept it: I'm the only one who meets those qualifications. Only someone who can control the soul's flames could unlock the power…"

"Yes, I know, you've told me all of this before, and it also has absolutely nothing to do with what I just said."

"We are defined by our qualities… our unique, inherent qualifications. No matter the context, we are one in the same with our qualifications. We _are _our qualifications."

Julian had lost his patience. "What are you talking about? If you're going to kill me just hurry up and do it already; don't waste my time with nonsense."

"Remember my Liaison? You posed a riddle about her to your… father, and I'm simply posing my own riddle about… the other one. Try to see things from my point of view, so that you can experience what you've lacked your whole life before it is finished."

"The other one?" He went over the scraps of clues in his mind.

"…_I simply have a tendency to over-explain irrelevant matters while overlooking the broader meaning…"_

_So, one last intellectual challenge before the end? Why not? He probably won't finish the job until I play his little game, and I'm sure he won't leave until then, either. I'm probably going to have to think like him in order to figure this out. He seems to enjoy connecting unrelated ideas with one another… perhaps that's the way to go._

"…_You have always been a peeve of mine…It's a peeve that I have… acquired…"_

_He's acquired a peeve that has always been had? Perhaps referring to human nature?_

"…'_Killing' it is simply releasing the energy to anyone who's willing or able to accept it… only someone who can control the soul's flames could unlock the power… I'm the only one who meets those qualifications…"_

_No, that can't be it._

"…_We are defined by our qualities… our unique, inherent qualifications. No matter the context, we are one in the same with our qualifications. We are our qualifications…"_

_He was mixing words earlier, maybe that's his angle._

"…_We are defined by our… unique qualifications… I'm the only one… who can control the soul's flames…we are our qualifications…our qualities…are…inherent…it's…always been a peeve of mine…I have… acquired…I…We…I…We…always been a peeve of…someone…I have… acquired…We are… one… the other one…"_

It finally dawned on him. It seemed impossible, but he figured that Mephiles' thought processes lead to all but the plausible, so this must've been the answer, as highly unlikely as it seemed to his more rational sensibilities.

"Now I know what you mean," Julian said in a serious tone. "I know what you are, or specifically, who you are. I didn't see it coming, but I realize now that it must be the truth." He paused just to double-check his rationalization of the irrational. He looked his soon-to-be killer in the eyes and relaxed his tone. "It's you, isn't it?"

Finally all was revealed: the pair of crimson shoes and pearl gloves had been matched to their rightful owner: the violet outfit had faded to a colorless gray, and her fur had turned to a dull aqua. Her yellow irises were now a pale green that glowed in the dark. Her shoulders hung loosely and her head was titled at an odd angle: her gaze was glazed over and corpse-like. She was like a shade of her former self. This had been all made visible by an azure flame that she was now conjuring.

"Hello," she said in a blend of her natural voice and the vocal patterns that Julian recognized as belonging to Mephiles, "and goodbye."

"On the off chance that you can still hear me in there… there's something you should know." Julian cleared his throat. "Blaze, I was the one who killed your parents… but it was Mephiles who made your mother beg for her life. Make whatever you will from that. That's all you'll get from me, kid."

The possessed corpse didn't address this revelation. "As I've informed members of your species before: a devil cannot act against another devil. Faithless, accursed. You've laid the foundation for me: your death will let the world know who I am." The host's hand began to glow; her palm was a charred indigo and the tips of her fingers a chalky light blue with a gradient in-between. A sharp, jointed, skeletal glove formed from her hand. From the center of the palm arose a flat pike with a crystalline sheen. The shining rapier couldn't have been any more than atoms thick. As commanded, Blaze delivered the final blow.


	44. Ch 44: Revelations

**Author's Note: The last chapter, and this one, basically serve as an overload of plot twists and revelations to try to tie up the loose ends that I set into place earlier in the story. Not everything will be answered by the time this fic is over, but hopefully you won't feel like I've left you completely in the dark.**

**If you haven't already guessed, this is my take on the "Tails first meets Sonic" flashback from Sonic X. This is basically an extended retelling of it that throws in some game references (because who doesn't love those?). Besides being relevant to the next chapter, I included this flashback because I felt that the Sonic X version felt too rushed and simple.**

**Those of you who are big game continuity buffs, I know that the Sonic 2 manual (or whatever it is) said that Sonic found Tails on West Side island (where Sonic 2 takes place), rather than on South Island (where Sonic 1 takes place and where the Scrap Brain Zone is), but I felt that this is a more logical transition between the two games. I know that the Tornado plane is supposed to be red in Sonic 2, but in the Sonic X flashback Tails painted it blue so I'm just sticking to that.**

**The choice of having Mephiles take on Blaze's form wasn't so much a choice that I made just to have Blaze back, but rather I made it for two main reasons: **

**1. to ensure that this story has one less hedgehog (4 is enough, or 5 if you count Metal Sonic). Mephiles took on the form of Shadow's shadow in Sonic '06, so just imagine that he did something similar with Blaze (but he also took over her body).**

**2. For a sense of dramatic irony. Basically it's the ever-calculating Julian getting his comeuppance from the person he least expected. Not only is this one of the reasons why I went with this turn of events, it's also one of the reasons why Mephiles chose this form for this occasion.**

**Not to mention that this could make for an interesting plot point in the sequel. I promise I'll try not to make it into some clichéd story about trying to convert a loved one from the ways of darkness. I'll try to make it more complicated and original than that.**

**Only one more chapter left.**

"So, I guess you're here to thank me like the others, right?"

"Huh?"

"You know, repay me for the job well done?"

"What job?"

"Do you live in a cave or something?"

"No…" apparently he took the question literally.

"I tore down that clockwork city. The people of this island sent for my help when inhabitants were being abducted by some strange bald person. Turns out that's where he was hiding."

"Bald?"

"No feathers, no scales and barely any hair. He's as plain as an egg's shell… come to think of it he was also shaped like one."

_Oh no. _ He thought._ If all of my inventions come from some weirdo kidnapper, then it's no wonder they hate technology, not to mention me._

"I'm sorry." He blurted out as he was staring at his knees.

"For what?" This was the last thing he was expecting to hear: his ego had already lead him to presume that the boy was providing these services out of gratitude. What could he possibly be sorry about?

"That egg person… I've been using his machines for my own purposes and I've been looking up to him. I should've known better than to have anything to do with him."

"So? You didn't know, and even if you did… it's not like I care."

"Huh?"

"It's not like the egg man's inventions were wrong, it was the fact that he was kidnapping people and trying to take control of the island. When people try to take control of others' lives, that's when I have a problem. As long as people are doing what they want without preventing others from doing the same, then everything's fine as far as I'm concerned."

"Ok." He didn't know what else to say.

"So then, why are you here? Was it just my plane or is there something else that you want?"

It always came to this. This is exactly the question that he was hoping wouldn't come up. Answering his question truthfully would require further elaboration: namely, on his past. It wasn't so much that he was unable to explain his history as it was that he didn't want to resort to that. Just for once he wanted a friend who didn't pity him. _Isn't there someone out there who respects me? Someone who likes me for who I am?_

There was only one solution: lie. "Oh no; like I said: when I see machines I can't help myself."

"Well, if you say so."

He had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, but all he had to do was make him stay on the island for a few days; that's all he'd need in order to prove his usefulness. Maybe he'd be allowed to go with him and escape this forsaken place. He couldn't just come right forward and ask to be his companion: such an attempt could only fail and expose him for the needy charity case that he was.

"I'm just gonna finish tuning up your ride before I show you how to do it, alright?"

Sonic nodded.

Tails turned his attention to the pilot's seat. After cleaning out all of the gunk from under the dashboard switches, he began to remove the hedgehog's belongings from the cockpit. He managed to yank a rather hefty bag from behind the seat. With that out of the way, there was plenty of space behind the pilot's chair. Perfect.

"Hey, be careful with that bag," Sonic said more as a half-threat, rather than a caution.

"Why, what's in it?"

Sonic rushed over and took the sack from the boy. "Something very valuable." He paused, but figured just that would only make the boy more curious. "While I've been working across the globe, I've run across these special stones. Chaos emeralds are what I think they're called."

"Sorry, I didn't know."

Sonic eased up a little. "That's alright. I was just a little edgy because everyone else who's seen them has told me how dangerous they are. Apparently there are a lot of tall tales about these emeralds. I haven't noticed anything strange about the six I've gathered, but just in case there's something to the hype I want to make sure they don't fall into the wrong hands."

"Anyways…" Tails got back to his previous line of thought, "I noticed that there's enough room behind this pilot seat for a passenger seat. I could put one in for you."

"No thanks; I can barely get all of the emeralds to fit in there now, let alone if there were another seat back there."

"W-well, wouldn't it come in handy in the future, on your later trips?"

"No, I travel alone and I work alone. Thanks for the offer, though."

Tails leaned against the side of the plane and slowly sank into a sitting position.

"Stay put for a minute, willya?" Sonic said off-handedly, "it'll be dark out soon and I want to get a fire setup, I'll be right back."

As soon as he was gone, Tails let out a long, tiring sigh. This seemingly-insignificant exchange between them confirmed the worst (but most likely) outcome: in a few days, after Sonic left, things would be back to normal.

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"Another dead end?"

"It would appear so," Omega agreed.

"But this is the fifth floor we've tried!" Eggman whined. "Are you sure you sense energy behind these walls?"

Shadow nodded.

"Well then, we'll just have to blast our way through," Ivo kept his determination.

"We?" Omega asked.

"It's not worth the time. The energy still feels greatly dampened; these walls must be several meters thick," Shadow concluded.

"My sensory recordings support this conclusion," Omega repeated in stereo to Shadow's also-droning voice.

"I'll have to use some more of the ship's energy to get us there," Shadow mentioned as he was already leaving the room.

"Wait a minute; if you use Chaos control, we could end up stuck inside a wall," Ivo sounded a tad panicked.

"Then stay here."

"Bah, in your dreams," Eggman scoffed as he tried to save face. "Something about this whole situation stinks, and who else but I should get to the bottom of it?" The doctor grew eager as the ebony hedgehog began pulling wires out of a nearby teleportation terminal.

**----------------------------------------------------------------------------**

It was done. Robotnik, Julian had been the most profitable of viceroys. So many attempts to awaken Iblis through controlled tribulations, and of all people it was a human whose efforts bore fruit. The Mobian called Silver was still present. Being a son of Chaos, he should be handled, but now is not the time. The opportunity has presented itself to silence him, but there is a simple reason why it cannot happen now: nothing of the sort could be foreseen as happening at this moment.

In fact, Mephiles couldn't perceive any further events that were to happen in this location, which can only mean one thing: Chaos energy. Not even a deity can predict outcomes when the forces of Chaos are at work. This is partly why it took so many attempts to create the proper scenario for Iblis' proper awakening. The unperceivable being and its fleshly avatar were on the alert: Chaos seldom travels alone.

Right on schedule, just as Mephiles' "memories" of this event ran out, two mortals popped into place. Their entrance was like taking a shear to the universe's script: it was always so infuriating whenever something proved difficult to control or anticipate.

Robotnik, Ivo: father of Robotnik, Julian had arrived. With him was another son of Chaos: one that Mephiles itself had a hand in cultivating in a failed attempt to bring about the chosen child of Chaos who would liberate Iblis from the grasp of the seven tainted emeralds. Seeing the two of them together reminded him of Robotnik, Gerald: a less-successful viceroy. The metal golem accompanying them was not worthy of mention.

Mephiles had a fondness for genealogies: one could say an obsession. The idea of a mortal's essence and qualities being transmitted through time gave comforting proof of continuity and purpose in existence. The false notion of a fleeting and varying cosmos was too revolting for its mind to bear. Robotnik, Ivo is ignorant of his legacy. Even though Mephiles could not be certain of how this situation would turn out, it knew what a mortal such as Ivo was and was not capable of handling; it was time for a revelation.

"In an amount of time that you cannot grasp, Robotnik, Ivo, there shall live a woman who will know you," it declared in Blaze's tongue.

"Not much for greetings, are you?" Eggman shrugged the cryptic remark off.

"Blaze? No… no heat signature in the body… but there is still electrical activity in the cortex," Omega mumbled to himself.

It continued: "This woman of the time to come will be honored and adored by her people, but she will live a lonely and empty existence. As her star fades, she will hunger for attention and gratification: she will turn to you for it. A sample of your genetic material, put into preservation long ago when it became apparent that you would never live to see your family line continued, will fall into her possession. Her name will be Thorndyke, and she will use this material to fashion a son named Julian. She will give him your kin's name."

"A nice story," Eggman dismissed the account, "but completely baseless. It's all a tactic to distract me and stall for time, am I right?"

"Feel free to pilfer the corpse," Mephiles directed to Eggman as Blaze stood aside to reveal Julian's remains. "There you will find the proof."

Not willing to let himself show any concern for his fallen partner, he merely directed his energy toward anger.

Even though the creator didn't say anything, this display was all the consent that Omega needed to act. He fired several high-power rounds at the possessed feline, who merely darted out of the way. Once the E-series robot determined that the target had moved far enough away so that an explosive's blast radius would not harm the creator or the former custodian, Omega readied a grenade in the palm of his metallic claw. An infinitesimally brief flash of light preceded the grenade detonating inside of Omega's hand, irreparably damaging internal mechanisms and rendering the limb useless.

Not even a machine could have guessed what had just happened. A near-instantaneous reaction on Mephiles' part caused Blaze to 'snipe' the grenade with a stream of plasma in the form of a lightning bolt. The ionized material provided a magnetic collision with the grenade; the force feedback 'tricked' the grenade into thinking that it had come into contact with a solid surface, causing it to detonate. During her absence from the mortal realm, Blaze's abilities had transcended manipulating mere chemical reactions.

She closed in on the one-armed robot. Shadow hurled a Chaos spear at her feet, but she leapt into the air and bypassed the hedgehog entirely. Landing directly behind the lumbering titan, she swatted aside his attempt to impale her with his remaining claw and began to pummel his midsection repeatedly. Her superheated hands caused his metal carapace to bend and distort. Shadow came at her again at point-blank, forcing her to break off her assault against Omega.

She jumped out of the way of a sweeping kick, only to be tossed higher into the air by a Chaos spear that detonated on the bit of ground that she had intended to land on. While she was being flung through the air by the blast, she managed to line up a shot: the energy of the bolt made contact with its target, but it was scattered across Shadow's body, collecting in the power rings on his wrists and ankles; for Shadow, manipulating garden-variety energies was child's play compared to harnessing the power of chaos energy. Unflinching, the hedgehog merely redirected the bolt's energy back at her: galvanizing her current trajectory and sending her flying across the room, denting an advanced alloy wall at the far end of the chamber.

It was time for Mephiles to take its foes seriously. It seems that this act of judgment would have to be swift and efficient, rather than something to be savored. The transformation that had overcome Blaze's arm when she carried out the sentence on Julian now affected her whole body.

Her skin became dark and reflective like onyx, her extremities and hair glowed white-hot. A bright aura surrounded her. The joints on her arms, legs and fingers became more pronounced as crystalline growths began to emerge from them. The blood vessels in her eyes burst, reddening her once-white sclera: a contrast to her nocturnal green Irises. The tails of her jacket fell from her form in clumps of ash.

This had gotten out of hand. While the others were watching this transformation in horror, Omega had managed to stealthily retrieve the custodian's personal artificial emerald energy driver. The next order of business was to retrieve Silver: an easy task now that he had the driver. Before Shadow or Mephiles could react, Omega jumped around the room with a series of pinpoint teleportations, gathering everyone in a single spot. Omega pulled the device's trigger one last time before Shadow could break away from him.

The sparkling and grotesque divinity was left alone with the body of its former associate. This confrontation had been anticlimactic uneventful, but not entirely unexpected. Mephiles' power was still growing, and even in this decaying body it was already more powerful than the two children of Chaos it encountered so far. There was nothing of value left in this location now, so the spirit plowed through the roof of the complex. Human soldiers were stupefied by the stream of light.

"What in the world was that?!" a panicked young recruit shouted mere feet from the hole that had been punched through the hull of the ship. A party of paratroopers had landed atop the station in order to bore into its crust and provide flanking support for any of the ground-level troops who ran into trouble.

"Maybe we'll find out once we sweep the inside of this place," a gruff drill operator replied nonchalantly as he focused on his work.

The recruit turned his back to the members of his squad. It had already taken an hour to make it this far and it looked like the team wasn't making any progress with the infiltration, so why not investigate? He tied his zip line around the frame of his carbine: it was equipped with an LCD display and camera for seeing around corners. With the slack in his line, he eased the weapon into the freshly-plowed hole (it was barely wide enough to fit a guy like him, and he didn't want to do anything _too _stupid).

He leaned over and swiped the drill operator's carbine off of his back. Their squad members didn't say anything because they were either bored and not paying attention, or they were anxious to see if the recruit could actually get the gun without the operator noticing. Using the link-up feature, the recruit scrutinized the feed coming from the descending camera. A slip of his grip caused the camera to come crashing down on the bottom of the pit. The LCD flickered for a moment and the recruit was aghast at what he found.

"What is it this time?" The operator asked.

"I-it's him! It's that Robotnik guy!"

**----------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Ivo really was out of shape. Even a one-armed, 1.5 ton robot was able to best him at keep-away.

"I'm ordering you to give that to me!" he snarled at the stoic machine.

"I was programmed to keep you safe from harm. That creature was far too dangerous; you aren't thinking rationally," Omega replied simply.

"I'm the one who programmed you, idiot! Without me you wouldn't have…" he trailed off. "What's the use?" he sighed, "it's too late anyway. Still… I do want to go back there at some point, to find out the truth, and make sure that GUN doesn't steal Julian's ideas like they stole mine."

"It is true," Omega declared

"What?"

"The custodian, the one you call Julian Robotnik, is your son."

"And how do you know that?" he had already reverted to his incredulous fury.

"Because he told me."

"And _why_ didn't you tell me this?"

"It didn't seem pertinent until now."

Ivo became flustered in his rage, but decided it was best to back off before making himself look like a fool. "So why didn't he tell me, then? Didn't he realize that maybe I would have stayed with him if I knew that?"

"I do not know. But, if I had to guess, I would say that it was because he only would have wanted you to join if you shared his goal, rather than because you felt obligated to."

"So, that's it then…" Ivo sank to the ground. He tried to laugh it off with little success; "I suppose that gives me and Sonic some common ground tonight." It didn't last, and he immediately became sullen again, "Of course, Julian and I never got along quite as well as Sonic and his… forget it." His voice became confident once more: "listen up, men." Omega and Shadow gave him the reception of statues, and Silver was still unconscious. "I'm putting my feud with Sonic on hold indefinitely. Tonight I understand at least a fraction of what he's going through, but more importantly: we have a new enemy now."

**--------------------------------------------------------------------**

_People have always been self-serving: too obsessed with their own peace of mind to humble themselves and accept the commands laid out for them. Even the most trusted of viceroys fell short at one point or another. So far she's been different: the little one. It's true that she's nowhere near worthy of the title of viceroy, but she knows her place, and the base nature of her species allows her to endure a variety of circumstances. She's weak of body and mind, but this only makes it easier for her to accept her faults and admit her own dependency. The gem on her person, the gem of everlasting youth, is the capstone of interwoven factors that ensure her potential as an eternal servant._

_Now is not her hour, however. She will be permitted to go about her business… for a time. Escaping the sacking of her people, surviving a planet's implosion and living off of the land while under My tutelage were only the beginning of her trials; the real challenge is the choice she will soon face: who does she value more: her companions or her god?_

_Until that hour, I will withdraw from Earthly affairs. I will observe this nation's actions and judge it accordingly. I've been merciful enough to give them the chance to amend their impious laws, now that today's actions have so forcefully called them to assembly._

_There's something comforting about returning to the old: to the tried and true status quo. When the flawed world's fluctuations and transformations cease, I feel something resembling joy. This is precisely how I feel now that I'm returning to my long-held course of action: waiting and watching. For too long this world's events have been lead astray by Chaos, and it will not go unchallenged for much longer. Its old enemy is gathering strength; I've already won the peoples' minds and bodies: their souls can't be too far behind._

_The era of Chaos Control is coming to an end: 'Control Chaos' will soon replace it as the mantra of power. That foul and deceptive king of devils, presumptuous enough to cleave me into two halves many eons ago, is survived by three conceited sons. Tremble, children of Chaos, for who will come to your salvation when the reign of Order has arrived?_


	45. Ch 45: Blue Horizon

**Author's Note: I just want to thank everyone who took the time to read, review and fave Delta Arc. I suppose I've never gotten around to explaining the name, have I? Well, to put it simply, Delta is the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet. Sonic X was divided into three distinct periods: the introductory period, the adaptation period and finally the metarex saga.**

**The introductory period was basically when with each episode we'd meet a new character (usually) and each episode was basically about Eggman sending out a random robot (I usually call them the robot of the week). The adaptation period was when they told the storylines of Sonic Adventures 1 & 2, as well as a little of Sonic Battle. The Metarex saga, as one would expect, was the season where everyone went into space to fight the Metarex.**

**So, basically this story would fit in as a fourth period of Sonic X. Also, in the language of mathematics Delta means change, and I've taken a considerable step outside of what's typical for the Sonic X series (or even the Sonic series overall). IMO the Sonic franchise is beginning to grow stale (in spite of their constant new characters and new gameplay gimmicks), and I think a little change couldn't hurt.**

**Some people have told me how surprised they are that this story hasn't gotten more attention. As of this writing the story has about 6000 views total. I'm not sure how that ranks in terms of FFnet numbers, but it's more than I was expecting, I can certainly tell you that much. If you think that's not enough, then feel free to tell others about my story. I didn't do this for views or with an expectation that it was going to be the greatest Sonic story ever told, but I think it provides a unique perspective on the franchise as a whole and it could teach other up-and-coming Sonic fans and writers a thing or two.**

**As for the future? There is the spinoff (and possibly other spinoffs) and a sequel that I have in mind. The spinoff wouldn't be too hard to write since it's meant to be short. I have it pegged for about six chapters, but generally stories end up longer than I plan them to be. As for the sequel, I do have a good story in mind, but what I'm working on is how to turn it into a good **_**Sonic **_**story. Please keep in mind that I have no idea how long these other stories will take, if they even come out at all. In the next year or so I plan to transfer from my easy-as-pie community college to a full-fledged four year institution, so I may not have time for this stuff. Still, it's been a learning experience for me and I do hope to write this kind of stuff for a living one day. **

**Btw, the spinoff is basically meant to be a prequel to the events of the entire Sonic X series. It focuses on a series of events that, at first, seem irrelevant to Delta Arc, but I plan on not only having it tie into Delta Arc but the sequel, as well.**

**All of the "rules" that I've listed in my user profile should also apply to the spinoff (besides the ones concerning which games it borrows elements from, since it takes place before those games), but it's possible that the rules may not all apply to the sequel. The sequel's storyline is in flux so I can't say for sure what it's going to be, but I've thought of some satisfying ways to write certain things that I previously thought would be impossible to write well in a story like this. The only rules that I can say for sure that will still apply will be the following:**

**- no fan characters (there will probably be nameless background characters), - no self-inserts, - no hybrids/children of existing characters, - no blatant character bashing, - it won't be a Chris story, - the story won't be defined by which couples I develop in the story.**

**In the meantime, I'll probably see if I can sit myself down to make some (good) artwork related to Delta Arc (considering that imagery is not one of my strong suites in writing) but until next time, that's all from me.**

He awoke to the sounds of the tide. Sitting against the side of the Tornado had given him a bad case of bed-head, not to mention an aching back. His tailbone was also sore from sitting on the ground. One of these days he should try sleeping on the wing of the plane, or maybe in a tree. As he got up to stretch, he noticed something very wrong. The quilt that he had felt brushing up against him was now gone. He didn't need it; last night was the first time it was ever used by anyone, but… oh no… He frantically swept the shoreline until he noticed that the little kid hadn't gone anywhere: he was just sitting on the other side of the biplane.

"Oh, good. You had me worried for a second," he panted.

The little tyke was wrapped in the blanket. He looked up in surprise, his eyes pink and puffy. He immediately winced and held his fists in front of his face as if to fend off some inevitable attack.

"What's wrong?" Sonic asked hurriedly as he looked around for whatever it was the child seemed afraid of.

"Don't look at me," he whimpered.

Sonic simply closed his eyes and remained where he stood.

"Uh… could you leave me alone?" Tails asked in a small voice, a little perplexed.

Sonic walked over to the other side of the plane and sat down on the ground, the tail end of the ship between their backs. He stared listlessly at the morning sky. After a few minutes the sniffling subsided. "Now do you feel like telling me what's wrong?" he asked from where he was sitting.

"You're leaving today, aren't you?"

"I was, but if there's something I can do I could stay a little longer."

"Thank you, but… it wouldn't matter."

"Hey, come on now," Sonic was slightly insulted, "you'd be surprised what I could do in just a little time."

"That's not what I meant. It's just… not that kind of problem."

"I haven't run into a problem yet that I can't solve. Listen, I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong."

The boy was silent for a while.

Just when Sonic was about to say something, Tails finally answered.

"I hate this place."

"What?"

"I know I shouldn't say it, but… I don't like anyone here. There's nothing about them that I like at all." He clenched his fingers together as he continued. "I tried to help them, and when they didn't want my help I tried to stay out of the way… but they just don't stop." He was once again teary-eyed as he began to grow indignant. "I just want to be left alone with my work. They already hate me so why can't they let me be? I can't even enjoy being kicked out of their group when they still hound me like this. Why does everything have to be taken away from me? I don't have relatives or friends, but they won't let me have solitude either!"

…

"Wow." He didn't even try to sound upbeat. "I never would have guessed."

"That's why…" he stammered; the outburst had tired him a little. "…that's why it wouldn't matter if you stayed longer… in the end… you'd still leave anyway."

"I could try to clear things up with the locals."

"No… they would never change their minds… especially the part about hating me. Even if you did try to teach them a lesson, they'd just take their anger out on me as soon as you left."

"But the thing I don't understand is… why? It came as a surprise because… who would have a problem with you? You fixed my plane for the fun of it, after all."

"Well, it didn't help that I was born with… these," he turned to motion towards his twin bushy tails. "I didn't have any friends, and when they found out I was working with metal…"

"…that sealed the deal?"

"Yeah."

Sonic pondered this conundrum for a while. "You know, back where I'm from, there's an old workshop that my uncle left me. I never use it, but it's full of all his old things from his inventing days. You could live there, if you want."

"Really? But why would you do that for me?"

"You said you didn't have any friends, right? Well, I could use a friend too."

"You? But everyone loves you."

"Well, that is true," he chuckled, "but they only like me for what I can do. Not that I mind receiving due praise, but it's not enough on its own."

Tails simply dismissed this as sarcasm or naïve ignorance on Sonic's part. "But I can't go anywhere. There's nowhere for me to sit in your plane."

"Sure there is," he smiled and picked the boy up. "Right here," he set Tails down in the pilot's seat.

"What? No, I couldn't," he began to sound embarrassed.

"Hey, you taught me something and it's only fair that I teach you something in return."

"But where are you going to sit?"

Sonic hoisted himself onto the topmost of the two parallel wings. "I'll be fine right up here. These long trips are always so boring for me. This way it'll be more interesting."

"But what if you fall off?"

"Hey, don't worry about it. I said I'd be fine, didn't I? Better me than you, anyway. I'll face the harsh winds and the world's troubles and you just live your life doing what you want, going at your own pace. How about it, do we have a deal?"

"I-I guess, if you say so…"

He looked out the horizon with determination. "Well Tails, there's no time like the present. Let's get going."

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------**

While the next shift of doctors came in to take over, the staff from last night wanted to make sure that they got the story straight before handing Tails over to another set of hands. Chris, Chuck and Cosmo were in a meeting room with the MD who oversaw Tails' treatment. Topaz already gave her side of the story before being called back to duty.

"And about how long were you two in the building?" the MD asked.

"I can't remember; when I woke up the plane had already crashed."

"Well, according to the soldier who rescued you, your plane was shot down about twenty minutes before you were brought here. Does that sound about right?"

"I suppose that's right…" she still was still very unsure.

"I know that this has been hard for you all, but we just need to know how long he was exposed to the fumes. We ran some blood tests and the CO levels were alarmingly high when we brought him in, but CO levels aren't a precise indicator of damage and we don't even know how his physiology differs from ours in that respect."

Chris interrupted. "But, are things looking any better than last night?"

"I'm afraid not. The boy must've breathed in a very high concentration of gas: just the residue on his clothing was one hundred times more concentrated than average indoor CO levels. I can't even explain how he's made it this far."

"We gave him CPR," Chris was desperately trying to find cause for hope.

"I'm sorry, but the oxygen levels in a person's breath are too diluted to treat a case like this. We'll just have to wait and see if anything happens, but keep in mind that it's possible we may not get any sort of reaction out of him at all."

**--------------------------------------------------------------------**

There was nothing left now: only the distant chatter and scampering of soldiers' boots. The battle was over and the culprits were long gone, in more ways than one. He knew this from the reports that he had overheard, but he was here anyway so he might as well make the most of it. In the dark catacombs of the Death Egg, there still must be answers to find.

He ventured his way to the study that he was in before. There had been surprisingly little need to be stealthy: the military presence wasn't as spread out as one might imagine. His intention was to go through the papers and files scattered across the room, but something caught his eye: something that wasn't there before. There was a monitor in the room that was still on: it illuminated everything in the room with a pale shade of blue.

Sitting in the middle of a table was a ragged and aged notebook that had been opened to a specific page. It read in simple font "I'll be that someone." None of the surrounding words seemed to provide any context for this statement, which had been written in bold and gone over many times with a neon yellow highlighter. Sonic wouldn't have the time to ponder this now.

Almost as if on cue, the screen went from a blank test pattern to a grainy video that resembled a home movie. The locale shown in the video was an office not too unlike this one, but it was clearly not the same setting. The camera was centered on a desk with steel girders and cement solely occupying the background. The chair behind the desk was vacant, and on the table-top were two miniatures: one a black and yellow biplane, the other a model of the Blue Typhoon (also painted in black and yellow).

A figure in a black lab coat walked around the desk, apparently having just finished setting up the camera in front of it. The person's head was just off-camera; the black coat with yellow trim suggested Julian, but the thin build certainly did not. The scientist turned around; a pair of white gloves emerged from the oversized sleeves. The bottom half of the coat was parted up the middle in the back, and the two halves were lifted up as if to perform a curtsey. Two cream-colored tails emerged from underneath the parted jacket and he was seated as soon as that business was taken care of.

Miles had grown considerably: his proportions were almost human. His whiskers had fanned out and virtually all color had left his face. Even his sky-blue eyes had faded. He hunched over and let out a long sigh before beginning. "If you're watching this, then it can only mean that someone has excavated my bomb shelter. It is from this location that I will make my final address. Some of you may know me as the famous inventor and child prodigy, but I'm hoping that's not all that I'll be remembered for.

For many years now I've been shunted into the role of Mobius' last protector against Iblis. These past years haven't been ones that I've been proud of, but as bleak as things look now I think there's a lesson to be learned: a lesson that I hope to pass on.

Over these years I've seen villages suffocated in their sleep by volcanic ash, islands engulfed in seas of magma, but the most heartbreaking of all is what I would always see before these things happened." He paused for a moment, staring blankly as he seemed to be recalling something. "I tried to warn them, but they would never listen. Sacred rivers, sacred mountains, sacred volcanoes and sacred temples: the natives wouldn't part with them, even if staying with these sacred sites meant death. Being the fool that I was, I'd respect their wishes and try to prevent Iblis from reaching them myself; it was failure every time.

I'd been taught to let others live the way that they want to, and I suppose that's why I sat back and let this happen. I let Sonic go and get himself killed, and I let him release Iblis. I trusted that he knew what he was doing, even though his actions seemed to defy logic. I should've been there when it happened, rather than just take it easy and avoid responsibility like he told me to.

I could've done so much more with my life if I didn't just sit there dreaming: hoping for that old plant to grow into something, wishing that everything would be alright in the end. The only thing that I wish for now… was that someone had told me sooner…"

The video ended in static. Sonic looked down at the notebook that he was still holding. He read the line again: _**I'll be that someone.**_

Staring at the highlighted words standing out against the blue glow of the screen reminded him…

Blue and yellow… that used to be their old colors; it's what the Tornado was repainted with. Just as the blue had faded out of the fox's eyes, it must have faded from everything else in his life. Even the blue skies were blocked out by the volcanic aerosols, the shimmering oceans dulled by ash and dust. All that was left of the blue was blackness: a void which became the symbol of Julian's cause.

After minutes of contemplating with the shushing static in the background, the tape once again resumed.

"Wait… wait, that's not it," the elder Miles sounded apologetic, "it's not right to simplify it like that. Even though Sonic and I have different ways of doing things, it's not fair for me to blame him now. Maybe it's just a little of my old soft heartedness getting to me, but I owe him a lot. He saved me from a lifetime of beatings and torment at the hands of fanatics; he gave me a home, he provided for me and gave me the opportunity for a better life." After a moment of silence, he gave a slight chuckle, "you know, to him I was always his little buddy or 'little bro'. When I was little, I had a name for him, too, but I was always too embarrassed to get around to using it…"

**----------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Uncertainty was always an element of a mobian's way of life, but it had never been more palpable than at this moment. It seemed unlikely that Tails would ever come to, but if he did there was no telling when it would happen. If it was going to happen, it probably should've happened already. There had been many cases of people in comas being able to hear and understand everything said around them, so Chris devised the idea of everyone paying their respects to him; hopefully they wouldn't be the last that he receives. Chris, Amy and Chuck were patiently waiting in the foldout chairs out in the hall; it was Cosmo's turn.

She had pulled up a chair to Tails' bedside; he had been transferred to a normal room. She held his hand delicately and looked into his closed eyes.

"There's something… something I remembered to tell you," she cleared her throat, "I've been having dreams of someone in pain: someone who gave me confidence and I was the one who caused his suffering." She began to lapse into her habits of guilt and self-loathing. "I was ashamed to face him because of what I did to him in return for this gift. But… in my stronger moments I'd remember what he once told me. He made me feel blameless, innocent, wanted, but it all sounded too good to be true. Maybe I don't remember the where or the when, or exactly how he worded it, but this feeling, and the boy who gave it to me, are things that I can never forget. He was kind, gentle, bright, but also a little sad…

and…

I know in my heart that I'll love him forever."

She looked up to see a pair of half-opened, dull blue eyes staring back at her. At first she was elated, until she noticed something terribly wrong.

He just kept staring in one direction, even after she had moved out of his line of sight. Nothing. No eye movement, no flinch, no twitch, no change in heart rate; he didn't stir in the slightest. The only reply he gave was the hiss from the respirator. She slumped over and held his hand against her cheek. She didn't linger long after that: the futility of it all had become crushingly obvious.

Even though she had been instructed that life began before birth and carried on until only God said so, she couldn't sense any sort of presence in the idle body: not that of the inventor whose hollowed-out bomb shelter she was born in, nor that of the boy that she now adored. Perhaps the rather nasty man was right: no mind, no soul.

She barely managed to walk outside of the room before nearly collapsing; luckily, Amy was there to catch her. She made no attempt to stand back up; simply let her feet hang limp as she sobbed once more.

"Don't worry," Amy tried to comfort her. "We'll get through this. It'll… it'll be alright." She wasn't even convinced of her own words.

"I-I I j-just don't know what to do," she sniveled in Amy's embrace. "I-I thought I could help him."

This was more than Chuck could bear. As he too began to cry, he mulled over the idea of a crying plant: perhaps out of his own curiosity, or maybe just a desire to distract himself from the current situation. The concept of a bipedal plant-based life form seemed intriguing to him when Chris first mentioned it. What would be the purpose of a plant crying, from an evolutionary perspective? Plants need to conserve water, but then again… sometimes they release excess water in the production of carbohydrates and… wait.

Wait a minute. Could that be it? Was it really so simple? Maybe they already took that into account and perhaps it was too late now… but there's only one way to be sure. He marched down the hall in a hurried pace towards the MD's office.

"Yes, Mr. Thorndyke?" the MD gave his undivided attention as Chuck burst through the door.

"I've got it. I know how he made it so far, and why he still has a chance."

"What is it?"

"That girl, the one who gave him CPR earlier…"

"Yes?"

"I think you forgot an important detail: plants don't breathe the same way we do. They take in water and carbon dioxide to produce carbohydrates and oxygen. If she was breathing pure oxygen into his mouth, that would be the same thing as the treatment that you were giving him, correct?"

"Well, not the same as hyperbaric oxygen, but it'd certainly have more of an effect than normal CPR."

"But is it enough?"

He pondered this for a moment.

Chuck repeated himself in a more deliberate manner: "Is it enough?"

**-----------------------------------------------------------**

His mind drifted through the shining road. Everything around him was soft and bright, indistinguishable from its surroundings. A gentle breeze flew in his face. He could sense a presence all around him.

_Who's there?_

"Someone's here to see you," a familiar face responded. Familiar though it was, his silhouette was still vague. "Are you there?"

_Who are you?_

"The question is: do you know who I am?"

He felt everything slipping again. Just those five words were a monumental effort. The deep sleep once again tried to embrace him. Not now; he had to fight it: at least until he could see who was speaking to him. The soft shadows began to condense: colors started taking shape. He remembered now. But what was his name, again? He could never forget the face, but he felt utterly embarrassed to be at a loss for the rest. A word popped into his head. He couldn't properly associate it with this individual, but he figured that the fact that it came to mind must be proof enough of who this person is.

It was all suddenly drifting away again. Was thinking always this hard? He had overestimated his own clarity: even though his previous words were a deliberate effort, when they came out they sounded hopelessly slurred and mumbled. He pressed the tip of his tongue against the hard palette on the roof of his mouth as he tried to annunciate the first consonant.

"_ehh…thh….deh…dah…d-d-duh….da…"_

With all of his strength he tilted his head forward and looked his old companion in the eye and, before falling back into unconsciousness, made himself heard.

"…_dad."_

A crowd had assembled near the doorway of Tails' room. Sonic had let himself in through the window and he was seated by the boy's side. He was too overjoyed to smile. The group's reaction was the same: no celebration, no joyful outburst. They huddled around his bed in silence. There were lingering troubles, distant conflicts and unanswered questions, but for now everything was all right.

Tails needed his rest, and there were still friends here to visit and a cranky red echidna down the hall, but before he went to spend time with them, Sonic wanted to give the boy a reminder: "Take as much time as you need to get better; go at your own pace, and I'll go at mine. It doesn't matter how far apart we get; the world is round, after all: I'll always come back around and meet up again."


End file.
